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Abraham Mpofu

Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Court Reporter
A BULAWAYO Labour Court accounting assistant appeared in court yesterday facing 157 counts of fraud after he allegedly forged several receipts and in the process defrauding the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) of $17 350.

Abraham Mpofu (32) of Gwabalanda and stationed at the Tredgold Building, pleaded not guilty to fraud charges when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Ms Sithembiso Ncube.

He was granted $300 bail and the trial continues today.

Mpofu allegedly tampered with carbon copy receipts resulting in misrepresentation as the amounts which appeared on the carbon copy receipts were less compared to those on the file copy.

Mpofu’s duties included receipting money from clients, banking and recording daily transactions in the cash book.

Prosecuting, Ms Tafadzwa Mutsambiwa said on September 20 last year the JSC chief accountant Mr Naison Mudekunye (46), stationed in Harare, in the company of Ms Muchaneta Bangomwe and Mr Evidence Chikuni, both internal auditors, visited Bulawayo Labour Court for an audit and they allegedly discovered that the receipts in the files did not tally with the carbon copies.

The purpose of the visit was to check whether money received was banked properly, ascertain whether amounts paid by clients were as per JSC tariffs and checking the general maintenance of the books of accounts.

Upon checking the books they discovered that the receipts in the files had different amounts from the carbon copy receipts.

Police were then called leading to Mpofu’s arrest.

Mpofu is alleged to have altered the carbon copies figures thereby prejudicing the JSC of $17 350,10 and nothing was recovered.

Ms Bangomwe yesterday took to the witness stand and narrated how Mpofu swindled his employer.

She said between September 2016 and September 2017, Mpofu on 157 instances tampered with accounting books and prejudiced JSC of $17 350,10.

“Upon going through the books of accounts we discovered that the receipts in the files had different amounts from those shown on the carbon copy receipts. We also noted receipts issued with monies not banked and these receipts would have indicated RTGS, but without proof of money going through the account,” she said.

Mr Gary Sengweni of Sengweni Legal Practice is representing Mpofu

@mashnets