3 Harare City Empoyees In Court For ZiG5.9 Million Fraud

Three City of Harare employees appeared in court this week on allegations that they defrauded the local authority of more than ZiG5.9 million through a scheme involving fake payment records and manipulated entries on the council’s online payment system.

The accused are acting chief clerical officer Enias Muringami and cashiers Melody Sevenzai and Lameck Chakwana. They appeared before Harare regional magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa and were each granted US$300 bail.

According to the State, the fraud was committed between March 2025 and February 2026, with the three accused allegedly working together to create fictitious payments and enable ratepayers to clear outstanding debts without the corresponding funds being deposited into the council’s accounts.

Prosecutor Lawrence Gangarahwe told the court that Muringami had access to the system used to upload bank statements and allegedly exploited his position by creating false deposits that could then be allocated to ratepayers’ accounts.

The State alleges Muringami targeted ratepayers with large outstanding balances and offered them the opportunity to settle their debts at discounted amounts after making cash payments in foreign currency. He then allegedly entered fictitious bulk deposits into the council’s RTGS system using the names of several companies, including Adam & Co, Vallage International, KR Enterprises, Frein Pvt Ltd, Alberline Enterprises and Dulwich Properties.

Sevenzai and Chakwana are accused of generating and submitting false proof of payment to senior clerical officers who were authorised to process transactions on the council’s online platform.

Once the fake deposits had been entered into the system, the alleged transactions were processed and receipt vouchers generated, despite no matching funds having been deposited into the City of Harare’s bank accounts. The fictitious payments were then allegedly allocated to various ratepayers’ accounts, effectively clearing or reducing their outstanding council bills.

Senior clerical officers allegedly processed the transactions after being led to believe by Muringami that the corresponding funds had been received by the council.

Prosecutors further allege that the accused received the money in cash and diverted it for their personal benefit while making it appear that the council had received the revenue.

The alleged scheme is said to have resulted in a prejudice of ZiG5,912,214.50, equivalent to approximately US$227,392.80 at the time.

The State told the court that none of the allegedly misappropriated funds had been recovered.

The matter is now before the courts as investigations into the alleged fraud continue.