Former Victoria Falls City mayor, Somveli Dlamini, has been sentenced to 36 months in jail for defrauding the local authority of $US15,000. Despite pleading not guilty to the fraud charges, Dlamini was found guilty by Hwange regional magistrate Mr. Mark Dzira. The magistrate emphasized that Dlamini had abused the trust and responsibilities of his position as a public officer.
Dlamini will serve an effective 30-month sentence, with six months suspended for five years, subject to good behaviour, the Chronicle reported.
The Case
Somveli Dlamini, a 53-year-old former councillor in Victoria Falls, was arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission on fraud charges related to a commercial stand valued at over US$90,000.
Dlamini allegedly pretended to be Valentine Munyaradzi Maseko to obtain the stand. The Victoria Falls City Council forbids individuals who have previously benefited from stand allocations to apply. This is in line with the Government directive that a home seeker benefits once in any land scheme. Lying about his identity could help him get another stand despite having already benefited from a previous allocation.
ZACC discovered the fraud and arrested the former Mayor. The local authority suffered a loss of US$15,000, with a potential loss of US$66,462.