-as ‘dead’ child wails in court
MILLICENT HUNGWE
MASVINGO- Rungamirai Machinjike (27) and her husband Talent Rutindike (33) from Village Mugudubi , Chief Nhema, Zaka have been jailed for attempting to defraud life assurer, Ecosure US$1 000 by falsifying the death of their son.
Magistrate Elizabeth Hanzi sentenced the couple to 6 months imprisonment, 3 months suspended for 5 years and 3 months suspended on condition each accused perform community service for 105 hours each.
Machinjike will perform community service at Mugudungu Primary School whilst Rutindike work for no pay on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Senga Primary School since he is employed.
The couple falsified death of their child to Ecosure during the period extending from the month of November to December 2023.
On the 17th of May the couple appeared in court and pleaded guilty before to Masvingo Province Magistrate Hanzi.
The Econet Ecosure Fraud Corporate Specialist Brighton Machisi was the complainant representing Ecocash Zimbabwe.
The court heard that Machinjike registered Ecosure Funeral Cover using her Econet line and was a beneficiary of the policy and added her husband, her daughter a juvenile and cousin as dependents.
The couple hatched a plan during the period of November to December 2013 to defraud complainant cash amounting to US$1 000 by misrepresenting that their daughter had passed on in November 2023.
To prove their claim, they submitted a death confirmation letter from traditional leader that their daughter had passed on at the village and buried there.
National cards of convinced witnesses to the death were obtained by the couple including the letter from the headman to process the claim in order to defraud the complainant.
The husband is said to have went on to complete Ecosure funeral cover claim forms and attached the letter of death and counter signed his signature on their behalf thereby making a misrepresentation to complainant that their daughter had died on 21st of November 2023, when in actual fact she is alive as she joyfully screamed in the court not knowing that her parents had signed her dead.
Machisi said Ecosure instituted a preliminary investigation to verify the claims and confirmed that the duo connived to make a misrepresentation to Ecosure in order to benefit financially. It also came out that the couple never gave birth to twins as they claimed.
