Sexual harassment, voucher fraud rock Simbisa Brands

Fast-food giant Simbisa Brands has been thrust into the spotlight following serious sexual harassment allegations levelled against some of its senior officials in Gweru, accused of abusing their positions to solicit romantic favours from junior staff members.

A recently leaked internal report details disturbing allegations against Gweru operations manager Bekezela Sibanda, who has been singled out by staff members for alleged sexual misconduct. According to statements from affected employees, Sibanda reportedly made inappropriate romantic advances towards junior workers, including unwelcome comments about their bodies that amounted to harassment.

One female employee alleged in her report that Sibanda had repeatedly forced himself on her in his office. "There is one female staff member who alleged in her report that Bekezela had… forcefully grabbed me into his arms and tried to kiss me in his office, not only once…," reads part of the leaked document.

Sibanda is also accused of soliciting sexual favours from female employees in exchange for favourable transfers or promotions within Simbisa Brands.

The report further unearthed abuse of company privileges by Sibanda, particularly concerning misuse of meal vouchers. Evidence reportedly shows he manipulated expired vouchers for personal gain, with instances cited where October 2024 vouchers were being fraudulently used in April 2025.

"There are some meal vouchers that were submitted without any dates of when the meal was redeemed or any signatures of Bekezela," the report noted.

The same internal investigations also implicated another senior official, Mthulisi Moyo, Chicken Inn Franchise area manager, who was allegedly entangled in a relationship triangle with two subordinate managers.

Following the investigation, Simbisa Brands dismissed Sibanda after finding him guilty of violating the company's strict policies on workplace sexual conduct. Simbisa Brands' code of conduct explicitly prohibits sexual harassment and abuse of authority within its ranks.

Efforts to obtain a comment from Sibanda were unsuccessful as he had not responded to written questions by the time of publication.

The scandal has sparked wider concerns within Zimbabwe's corporate sector about workplace abuse of power and sexual misconduct, with calls growing for companies to strengthen protections for junior staff and enforce zero-tolerance policies against harassment.