Hurungwe Council Officials Jailed 174 Years For Fraud
Three senior officials from Hurungwe Rural District Council (RDC) have been handed a combined 174-year prison sentence after the High Court found them guilty of defrauding the council of over US$65,000 meant for critical infrastructure projects.
Council chief executive officer Luke Kalavina was sentenced to 36 years, while the council engineer, Romeo Mupamaonde, and his assistant, Alfred Makama, each received 52-year jail terms for four counts of fraud.
Investigations by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) revealed that the trio used fake construction claims and diverted building materials for personal gain. They claimed that Marloshac Investments had built the Kaspikiri Causeway Bridge and authorised over US$18,000 in payments. In reality, the bridge was constructed by local contractor Kainos Mupiwa, who never received the money. Instead, the funds were pocketed by the officials.
The officials also redirected plumbing materials worth US$3,889 intended for Chiedza Clinic to personal projects. They further claimed that the same private company had built ablution facilities at the clinic, defrauding the council of another US$6,075. Additional materials worth US$8,501 were bought from Bels Trade — a company owned by one of the accused — but were never delivered. In total, the council lost US$47,266.21, none of which has been recovered.
Marloshac Investments director Marvin Matiza was also convicted on two counts of fraud and sentenced to 36 years.
This wasn’t the first time Mupamaonde and Makama had been convicted. In an earlier case, they, along with Batsirayi Nyamayaro of Anstand Investments, defrauded the council of US$17,990 earmarked for the Chehoko Causeway Bridge. Community contractor Mupiwa built the bridge but was paid only US$1,450. For this earlier fraud, the trio received 18-year jail terms, with three years suspended for good behaviour, and fines were imposed on both the individuals and companies involved.
Kalavina, who was also arrested in the Chehoko case, was acquitted of those charges but convicted in the Kaspikiri and Chiedza Clinic fraud cases.
Following the convictions, Hurungwe RDC has appointed Remigio Makuwerere, the council’s social services officer, as acting CEO. Council chairperson Mary Mliswa-Chikoka expressed confidence in the new leadership, saying his experience and energy will help drive meaningful development in the district.
Hurungwe RDC is Zimbabwe’s second-largest rural district after Makoni in Manicaland.
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The post Hurungwe Council Officials Jailed 174 Years For Fraud appeared first on iHarare News.
