Trio jailed for stealing from Mugabe

The three employees who defrauded President Robert Mugabe's Gushungo Holdings firm of $139 000 were slapped with jail terms ranging between two and four years yesterday.

The trio of Okay Mataramvura (38), Boaz Chatepa (32) and Richard Simani (37) were convicted of fraud when they appeared before Bindura regional magistrate William Bhila.

Mataramvura (38), who worked as a stores and field clerk at the company, was sentenced to a four-year jail term for swindling the First Family of over $100 000.

The court heard that on different dates and times, Mataramvura receipted cash amounting to $132 940 on the top copy of the cash sale receipt book after which he then proceeded to under-receipt the quantity of goods that had been sold.

His co-accused, Chatepa and Simani, were slapped with 36 and 24 months respectively for defrauding Gushungo Holdings of $24 503 and $2 507 on separate occasions between December last year and January this year.

However, Mutaramvura will serve an effective one year, Chatepa (15 months) and Simani (nine months) after part of their sentences were suspended on condition of good behaviour.