The Sunday News
Munyaradzi Musiiwa Midlands Correspondent
POLICE in Chirumhanzu have arrested a headmaster at Mapiravana Secondary School after he defrauded the rural school of $1 450 by allegedly inflating prices of services offered to the institution by various service providers. Maxwell Douglas Nyikadzino (55) of Mapiravana Secondary School in Chirumhanzu was last week arraigned before Mvuma magistrate Mrs Vimbai Makore facing four counts of fraud.
Nyikadzino, who pleaded not guilty was convicted of two counts and remanded in custody to Thursday for sentencing.
The trial for the other two counts will also commence on the same date as the State is still looking for more evidence against the accused person.
For the State, Mr Bernard Nyoni told the court that during the period extending from January 2014 to December 2014 Nyikadzino allegedly inflated prices of the services offered to the school by different people and service providers thereby prejudicing the school money amounting to $1 450.
Mr Nyoni said on 20 January 2014 the accused paid one Nicholus Mubaiwa a security guard $40 as a monthly wage and went on to inflate the figure to $640 thereby prejudicing the school of $600 which he converted to his own use.
It was further said that sometime in February 2014 on a date unknown to the court, Nyikadzino made a payment of $40 for school field tillage to McDonald Mapiravana and he added a $100 to the amount but, however, “forgot” to alter the amount in words thereby defrauding the school of the $100.
Mr Nyoni told the court that Nyikadzino used the same method on the third count when he misled the school authorities that he had deposited $650 into a banking cooperative to contribute towards a revolving fund targeting SMEs. No payment had been made and the school was prejudiced.
The court also heard that on the fourth occasion, Nyikadzino forged receipts and inflated prices after buying Giant Rap Hobson from Joma Agro-Seeds for $40 and added $100 to the price which he converted to his own use. Mr Nyoni said the matter was discovered when the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education sent an auditor to Mapiravana Secondary School where the headmaster failed to account for the missing $1 450. The matter was reported to the police leading to his arrest.
