News / National
UZ Vice Chancellor implicated in a $71 000 fuel scam
20 Dec 2011 at 22:12hrs | Views
On Tuesday the Daily News reported that the Vice Chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe (UZ), Professor Levi Nyagura has been implicated in a case involving two employees from the learning institution who were accused of stealing over $71 000 worth of fuel.
Magistrate Lazarus Murendo acquitted the duo of Thomas Nyaganga, 37 and James Manja, 33, of the charges but not before they implicated Nyagura.
The two were employed by UZ as fuel attendant and director of works and estates respectively.
They were discharged at the close of the state's case after magistrate Murendo adjudged that the state's case was "porous".
"Both accused have alleged improper use of fuel by the vice chancellor.
"The vice chancellor was not called to dispute allegations," said magistrate Murendo. Murendo further said: "The accused seem to have been made the sacrificial lambs of an administrative bungling in which the authorities failed to address the issue of old pumps but sought to use the two as scapegoats.
"Overally the state's case is so porous that it would not be judicial exercise of the court's decision to put the accused on their defence in the hope that the accused's evidence might plug the loopholes in the state case."
In his defence Manja had told the court that: "The chief internal auditor deliberately wrote a falsified report with a clear agenda of protecting the vice chancellor since he reports directly to his office.
"Since I was not controlling the vice chancellor's fuel, chances are very high that he took more than what he had stored."
Prosecutors had alleged the two were arrested by police after the institution had carried out a fuel audit which showed fuel shortages on January 26 last year.
The audit was carried out between January 1 and December 31, 2009.
The court heard that the two who were the custodians of fuel could not account for 49 415,79 litres of petrol.
The court was further told that the two could not account for a further 22 065, 32 litres of diesel, leading to their arrest.
According to state papers, the fuel was valued at $71 581,11.
Magistrate Lazarus Murendo acquitted the duo of Thomas Nyaganga, 37 and James Manja, 33, of the charges but not before they implicated Nyagura.
The two were employed by UZ as fuel attendant and director of works and estates respectively.
They were discharged at the close of the state's case after magistrate Murendo adjudged that the state's case was "porous".
"Both accused have alleged improper use of fuel by the vice chancellor.
"The vice chancellor was not called to dispute allegations," said magistrate Murendo. Murendo further said: "The accused seem to have been made the sacrificial lambs of an administrative bungling in which the authorities failed to address the issue of old pumps but sought to use the two as scapegoats.
"Overally the state's case is so porous that it would not be judicial exercise of the court's decision to put the accused on their defence in the hope that the accused's evidence might plug the loopholes in the state case."
In his defence Manja had told the court that: "The chief internal auditor deliberately wrote a falsified report with a clear agenda of protecting the vice chancellor since he reports directly to his office.
"Since I was not controlling the vice chancellor's fuel, chances are very high that he took more than what he had stored."
Prosecutors had alleged the two were arrested by police after the institution had carried out a fuel audit which showed fuel shortages on January 26 last year.
The audit was carried out between January 1 and December 31, 2009.
The court heard that the two who were the custodians of fuel could not account for 49 415,79 litres of petrol.
The court was further told that the two could not account for a further 22 065, 32 litres of diesel, leading to their arrest.
According to state papers, the fuel was valued at $71 581,11.
Source - TH
