Woman steals US$24 000 from employer

A 35-year-old woman from Barham Green, Bulawayo, appeared in court yesterday facing charges of stealing US$24,000 from a steel manufacturing company where she worked. The accused, Nothando Banana, allegedly committed the crime during an armed robbery on October 15, the same day a group of robbers, armed with pistols and a garden pick, stole US$32,500 in a separate violent incident.

Banana, charged with theft of trust funds, reportedly attempted to deflect blame for the theft onto the robbers. She appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mrs. Benhilda Chiundura, with Mr. Jethro Mada representing the State. Banana was released on US$100 bail and is scheduled to return to court on November 1.

According to Mr. Mada, Banana exploited the chaos of the robbery to pilfer US$24,400 from a safe she was responsible for. The safe contained cash from sales, which she was supposed to deposit for her employers.

Details of the robbery were disclosed in court, revealing that the armed gang confronted security guards and night shift workers, forcing them to lie down while binding their hands and legs with shoelaces. The criminals then ascended to an office where they used a grinder to break into two safes, ultimately stealing from only one.

"The gang proceeded to an office upstairs where they used a grinder to cut open two safes. They only stole from one safe and left the one Banana was entrusted with depositing money from salespersons before handing it to the company authorities," Mr. Mada stated.

Following the incident, company officials conducted an inventory check, discovering that the safe Banana managed, which originally contained US$27,000, had been tampered with. Upon unlocking it with the keys provided by Banana, they found only US$2,600 remaining. During questioning, she admitted to using the stolen funds.

Banana's arrest followed an extravagant spending spree in Bulawayo, raising suspicions about her sudden influx of cash. The public has been closely following the case, particularly as it unfolds in the wake of a recent high-profile heist, where robbers armed with AK-47s seized approximately US$4 million from an Ecobank branch in Bulawayo while cash was being loaded into a transit van.

Additionally, another recent incident saw US$20,000 stolen from a Fawcett security cash-in-transit van after guards offered a lift to two strangers.

Recent crime statistics reveal an alarming 11 percent increase in robbery incidents across the country, prompting urgent calls for law enforcement to devise and implement effective strategies to combat crime.

At the ZRP Senior Officers' Conference held in Harare last week, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe expressed concern over the rising crime rates, stating, "It is disheartening that the police have failed to meet set targets, and the increase in crime leaves citizens apprehensive."