GMB employee up for $14 000 fraud

News
A SENIOR employee at the GMB has been brought before the courts over a maize meal deal where the parastatal was allegedly prejudiced of $14 000.

A SENIOR employee at the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) has been brought before the courts over a maize meal deal where the parastatal was allegedly prejudiced of $14 000.

STAFF REPORTER

Majoni Jakubosi (40) of Montrose in Bulawayo was not asked to plead to criminal abuse of duty as a public officer charges when he appeared before Bulawayo Magistrate Crispen Mberewere last week.

He was granted $300 bail and remanded to June 24 for trial.

It is the State case that sometime in January last year, Jakubosi approached Robert Rewai Mandizha, owner of Mahla Store who was purchasing maize meal for his shop at the GMB Belmont depot.

He allegedly borrowed $500 which he said he wanted to use to pay school fees for his child.

Mandizha told him that he did not have money before he left the depot.

After few days Jakubosi telephoned Mandizha requesting to buy maize meal using his GMB credit account and promised to pay back.

He allegedly said the maize meal would help him raise $500 school fees for the child. Mandizha agreed to the arrangement.

On January 4 2012, Chenesai Murambiwa, a friend to Jakubosi, asked to buy maize meal from GMB to resale in Mberengwa and Jakubosi, approved the transaction.

He allegedly asked Murambiwa to pay $6 000 which she did and also paid an additional $300 for transport.

Instead of receipting the cash, Jakubosi allegedly converted the money to his own use and instructed the sales clerk Patience Mugara to produce an invoice purporting Mahla Store had bought 15 tonnes of maize meal. He allegedly repeated the crime on February 10 in a deal involving $8 000.

Jakubosi paid the Mahla Store debt in installments of $70, $100, $200, $300 and $600.

GMB’s loss control officer Joseph Virima in Harare, discovered the alleged criminal activity and the matter was reported to the police, leading to Jakubosi’s arrest. Only $11 223 was recovered.