Former ZBC News anchor Oscar Pambuka has been jailed for six years for fraud.
Pambuka and former Highfield Member of Parliament Psychology Maziwisa were last year convicted of fraud and were supposed to go to jail for two years and six months each but instead, “they disappeared,” The Herald reported.
Pambuka was this week convicted in another case of fraud and remanded in custody for sentencing while Maziwisa has not been accounted for and is still on a warrant of arrest.
The courts activated Pambuka’s warrant of arrest following his conviction at Mbare magistrates’ court. He was yesterday brought before High Court judge Justice Pisirayi Kwenda for a default inquiry and was committed to prison.
Pambuka and Maziwisa were initially convicted of two counts of fraud and each sentenced to six years and five months in prison.
However, they will only serve two years and six months each after the rest of the term was conditionally suspended.
What happened:
i). They were fraudulently awarded a tender to do public relations work for ZESA Holdings by former Energy minister Samuel Undenge at a time the power utility had its own functional public relations department. ZESA’s subsidiary, the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), lost over US$12 000 in that deal.
ii). Pambuka attempted to defraud a Harare-based transporter of R36 000 after misrepresenting to him that he was Croco Motors director Mr Chingwena and wanted advance money to pay for shipment of his motor spare parts in South Africa. He was found guilty in this case on Wednesday.
Pambuka’s alleged accomplices, Ngonidzashe Mbauya and Elmore Mwenye, were cleared and acquitted of the charges.