Zimsec exam papers thieves get 6 months jail terms

CHITUNGWIZA - A FORM Four student at privatedly-owned Fountain College and two men from Chitungwiza were last week slapped with a six-month jail term each after they were convicted for leaking this year's Ordinary Level Commerce and Science papers.

Brian Kaundikiza (18), Takudzwa Pindirire (20) and Masimba Mlalazi (21) all from Unit N, Sekewere last Thursday convicted on their own pleas to contravening section 35(a) of the Zimbabwe School Examination Council Act when they appeared before Chitungwiza magistrate Donald Ndirowei.

Prosecutor Wilson Matsika told the court that on October 30 this year Mlalazi and Pindirire illegally gained access to Ordinary Level Science papers 1 and 2 and sold them for $2 each.

It is the State case that O-Level students were due to sit for the two papers on November 10 and 17.

The suspects were arrested on November 7 after police received a tip-off about the leak.

Some of the copies were recovered from the quartet's houses and the Zimbabwe School Examination Council (Zimsec) board confirmed their authenticity.

Zimsec board chairperson Professor Levy Nyagura last week ordered a re-sit for four other O-Level papers English Language papers 1 and 2 and Mathematics papers 1 and 2 after it emerged that the papers were leaked at a school in the Midlands province.