Headmistress suspended on allegations of embezzling school funds

Mrs Nomalanga Khumalo, the headmistress of David Livingstone Secondary School in Ntabazinduna has been suspended on allegations of embezzling school funds and for being implicated in rustling activities.

Khumalo reportedly misappropriated $15 200 and allegedly used school funds to pay for 10 head of cattle that were allegedly stolen by her brother in the community.

The matter has created tension between villagers from Mbembesi and Ntabazinduna, who lost livestock, and the school authorities.
The beasts were reportedly used to feed children at the Presbyterian Church run boarding school, while Mrs Khumalo is accused of pocketing the money that she took from the school account to buy them.

Her brother has since been arrested for rustling.

Mrs Khumalo was served with her suspension letter on Friday by the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts,  and Culture officials.

She was allegedly suspended for three months without pay, to allow the ministry to conclude its investigations.

Sources from the church and the school alleged that the church discovered   the fraud last year and fired a   boarding master who was her alleged accomplice.

"The boarding master, Mr Mazisi Mpofu was arrested by the police for allegedly working in cahoots with Mrs Khumalo's brother to steal cattle from the surrounding communities. They would keep the stolen cattle at the school before selling them. A total of 10 cattle found their way to the dining hall. She has been fingered in the scam because it is suspected that she knew the cattle were stolen," said a source from the church.

They said the amount that was missing could be more because Mrs Khumalo had been paying it back since November last year.

"After firing the boarding master (name withheld), the church struck a deal with Mrs Khumalo. They agreed not to prosecute her if she replaced the money she had stolen. They stripped her of her powers in January and left her as a ceremonial head, putting the deputy headmaster, Mr George Simbanegavi in charge of the school," said a source from the church.

An official at the school said the Ministry got wind of the issue when she was implicated in her brother's cattle rustling court case.

"A Ministry of Education audit team came to the school to investigate. Mrs Khumalo made frantic efforts to  reduce the amount that was recorded as missing by asking teachers and other members of staff to sign expenditure vouchers. A majority of them signed but the ministry still found $15 200 missing from the books," said the official.

Mrs Khumalo declined to comment on the matter, saying her superior, the Matabeleland North provincial education director, Mrs Boithatelo Mnguni, was better placed to speak on the issue.

Mrs Mnguni confirmed the suspension.
"Yes, Mrs Khumalo has been suspended. I do not have the full details of the suspension, but I would like to stress that we are still investigating and we cannot conclude that she is guilty at this stage. I call on the media and the community to bear with us while we carry out due processes," said Mrs Mnguni.

She said as far as the ministry was concerned, she was still the substantial head of the school, until investigations have been completed.

A comment could not be obtained from the school's administrators at their offices along Leopold Takawira Avenue.

A woman who was at the reception refused to give Chronicle the cellphone numbers for the chairperson of Presbyterian Education Board in Bulawayo, Mr S Khumalo and the co-ordinator of education for the  church in Matabeleland, Mr Victor Mthimkhulu.

She called Mr Khumalo, who said he was too far away to comment.
The woman then took this reporter's number.

"Mr Mthimkhulu is out at the moment. I will give him your number and he will call you as soon as he comes in. You can keep trying our landline," she said.
Several calls to the landline did not yield anything.