MARTIN MAWAYA
GWERU-Tinotenda Ndlovu (31) of Mkoba 13 has been sentenced to 12 months in prison for defrauding the Gweru City Council of thousands of dollars in potential revenue.
Delivering the sentence, Gweru Provincial Magistrate Arnold Maburo suspended 3 months of the sentence for good behavior, and another 4 months on the condition that Ndlovu restitutes the complainants $400 by August 30, 2024 at the Gweru Clerk of Courts.
Magistrate Maburo further suspended 5 months of the sentence on the condition that Ndlovu completes 175 hours of community service at Mpumelelo Primary School.
It was the state case that between February and April 23, 2024, at Africa Mall, Ndlovu misrepresented himself and issued fake Gweru City Council shopping licenses to Dorcas Maphosa, Shebba Golide, Rabecca Shamiso Gumbo, and Tinashe Kupamba.
He then collected $100 from each shop owner.
The fraud was discovered on April 17, 2024, when council employees conducting shop license inspections found that Maphosa, Golide, Gumbo, and Kupamba were displaying fake licenses.