Chipinge Registrar, Austin Dube (61), Jailed For US$7 000 Theft
Austin Dube (61), the Registrar at the Chipinge Civil Registry Office, has been sentenced to two years in prison for theft.
Dube appeared before the Chipinge Magistrates’ Court, facing two counts of theft of trust property under Section 113(2)(d) of the Criminal Law [Codification and Reform] Act Chapter 9:23.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), on July 29, 2024, the Provincial Registrar for Manicaland Province, who was the complainant in this case, discovered discrepancies in Dube’s office. Said the NPA:
She ordered an investigation which revealed that the accused person failed to account for USD4115 collected from their sub-offices.
On the 28th of August 2024, the accused person was given registry revenue collection fees amounting to USD6793 and a deposit slip for the purposes of banking by the accountant. He instructed the accountant to collect revenue from their sub-offices. The money was not banked. The accountant collected a total of USD2586.
On the 31st of August 2024, the accused person went to the accountant’s office carrying a black plastic bag which he instructed the accountant to open and count the cash which was inside.
The plastic contained USD3523 instead of USD6793 he was given on the 28th of August 2024. He insisted that the accountant write a fresh deposit slip bearing the initial USD6793 and the USD2586 which she had collected from sub-offices. She refused to do so and reported the matter to the Provincial Registrar.
The matter was reported to the police, leading to Dube’s arrest. He stole a total of US$7,385, and none of the stolen funds have been recovered.
Dube was sentenced to three years in prison, with one year suspended on the condition that he makes restitution. As a result, he will serve an effective two years behind bars.
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