Kwekwe, Oct 17, (Southern Eye Live): TWO Kwekwe men have been sentenced to 36 months in prison each by the Kwekwe Magistrates’ Court for hacking into Econet Wireless Zimbabwe’s computer system and unlawfully facilitating access to airtime bundles, causing the telecommunications company a financial loss of US$12 436,52.
Dumisani Mutwazi (33) and Tanaka Tayero (27) were convicted of hacking and unlawfully using data or devices to facilitate unauthorised access to Econet’s computer system.
The court suspended 10 months of each sentence for five years on condition of good behaviour, while a further 18 months was suspended on condition that each offender performs 630 hours of community service.
The offences occurred between June 25 and July 10, 2025, when the two men allegedly accessed Econet’s system unlawfully and sold or made available access codes used to obtain airtime bundles.
The scam came to light on July 11, 2025, when an Econet corporate fraud specialist reviewing airtime purchases through Yomix and EcoCash discovered suspicious transaction patterns linked to the offenders.
Investigations established that airtime bundles had been purchased repeatedly and distributed to several individuals in exchange for cash.
Econet suffered financial prejudice amounting to US$12 436,52, and nothing was recovered.
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