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National Foods driver in court over US$80k grocery theft
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A 50-year-old woman employed as a driver by National Foods Private Limited has appeared in court facing allegations of stealing groceries worth over ZWL2.1 million.
Mirika Mudyiwa, of Kuwadzana 5 in Harare, was arraigned before magistrate Ruth Moyo on Tuesday, charged with theft of trust property. She was not in custody during her initial appearance and was remanded to August 25 for routine continuation of proceedings.
The complainant in the case is National Foods, represented by its loss control officer, Mr Bhoki Nyambo. Prosecutor Mr Takudzwa Jambawu told the court that Mudyiwa was responsible for delivering groceries from the company's Aspindale depot in Harare to various clients nationwide.
On January 10, 2023, the State alleges, Mudyiwa connived with a stores clerk at National Foods, identified as Saymore Ngonidzashe, to steal rice destined for a customer. That day, she had been assigned to deliver 10 tonnes of rice to the N. Richards branch in Hatcliffe using a white 15-tonne Mercedes-Benz truck, registration number AEU 3955.
After completing the delivery, some goods were returned by the client due to breakages. These included 1 x 5kg Better Buy Rice, 50 x 10 x 2kg Better Buy Rice, and 83 x 10 x 2kg Mahatma Rice. Instead of returning the items to National Foods as company policy requires, Mudyiwa and her accomplice allegedly converted the goods for their own use.
The offence was uncovered when the Hatcliffe branch of N. Richards followed up on the returned goods. Since the rice had already been paid for, the client was expecting either replacements or formal credit, prompting the company to investigate.
The probe revealed that the returned stock had never made it back to National Foods and had instead been misappropriated. The value of the stolen groceries was pegged at ZWL2 133 487.60. None of the goods have been recovered.
The matter has raised concerns about internal controls and monitoring of delivery operations within the company.
Mirika Mudyiwa, of Kuwadzana 5 in Harare, was arraigned before magistrate Ruth Moyo on Tuesday, charged with theft of trust property. She was not in custody during her initial appearance and was remanded to August 25 for routine continuation of proceedings.
The complainant in the case is National Foods, represented by its loss control officer, Mr Bhoki Nyambo. Prosecutor Mr Takudzwa Jambawu told the court that Mudyiwa was responsible for delivering groceries from the company's Aspindale depot in Harare to various clients nationwide.
On January 10, 2023, the State alleges, Mudyiwa connived with a stores clerk at National Foods, identified as Saymore Ngonidzashe, to steal rice destined for a customer. That day, she had been assigned to deliver 10 tonnes of rice to the N. Richards branch in Hatcliffe using a white 15-tonne Mercedes-Benz truck, registration number AEU 3955.
After completing the delivery, some goods were returned by the client due to breakages. These included 1 x 5kg Better Buy Rice, 50 x 10 x 2kg Better Buy Rice, and 83 x 10 x 2kg Mahatma Rice. Instead of returning the items to National Foods as company policy requires, Mudyiwa and her accomplice allegedly converted the goods for their own use.
The offence was uncovered when the Hatcliffe branch of N. Richards followed up on the returned goods. Since the rice had already been paid for, the client was expecting either replacements or formal credit, prompting the company to investigate.
The probe revealed that the returned stock had never made it back to National Foods and had instead been misappropriated. The value of the stolen groceries was pegged at ZWL2 133 487.60. None of the goods have been recovered.
The matter has raised concerns about internal controls and monitoring of delivery operations within the company.
Source - The Herald