An administrator at Shalom Church, Westlea Assembly, allegedly stole over US$21,000 in tithes and offerings after being instructed to deposit the money into the church’s bank account.
<a href="https://www.hmetro.co.zw/church-admin-steals-us21k-tithes-offerings/">H-Metro</a> reported that the administrator, Chipo Molly Machokonera, appeared before Harare magistrate Isheanesu Matova on Monday, where she was not asked to plead.
Prosecutor Rufaro Chonzi told the court that between January 1, 2023, and December 10, 2024, Machokonera was employed by the church as an administrative secretary.
Her duties included receiving and recording tithes and offerings from congregants and banking part of the money.
It is alleged that Machokonera took advantage of her position and diverted US$21,904 for her personal use.
She then misrepresented the deposits to the church by providing fake deposit slips, purporting that the money had been deposited at Steward Bank Joina City Branch in Harare, and forwarded the slips to the pastor.
The court heard that on December 10, the pastor requested a bank statement from Steward Bank, discovering that the money Machokonera claimed to have deposited was not accounted for.
He then called for an internal audit, which revealed the offence, leading to a police report and her subsequent arrest.
The total value stolen is US$21,904, and nothing has been recovered.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

A lady who worked at Shalom Church took more than $21,000 in church donations for herself. She was supposed to put the money in the church's bank account but kept it. She gave fake slips to the pastor saying she deposited the money, but she didn't. The pastor found out and reported it to the police. The lady got arrested, and all the money is still missing. She will go to court for her actions.

Church Administrator Allegedly Steals Over US$21,000 In Tithes And Offerings

A 43-year-old Zimbabwean woman who was the treasurer of the Pretoria City Seventh-day Adventist church has been jailed for an effective three years for stealing R800 000 in tithe money in South Africa.
Memory Mutsika was convicted by the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court for 128 counts of theft which occurred over a four-year period.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Mutsika’s responsibilities included transferring tithe and offering money deposited to the church account, to the Northern Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
NPA spokesperson for Pretoria, Lumka Mahanjana, said that between 2012 and 2015, Mutsika transferred more than R800 000 of the money received from the tithe and offerings to her bank account.
Mahanjana said Mutsika converted the money to her personal use and pleaded guilty to the charges.
She said Mutsika had asked for a non-custodial sentence to enable her to repay the church the money over five years. Added Mahanjana:
<blockquote>
However, the State argued that Mutsika always indicated her willingness to pay back the money and had not paid back a single cent since March 2022 after her conviction.
The magistrate agreed with the State and said Mutsika showed no remorse, and that she only stopped stealing not because of her conscience, but because she was caught.
The church placed her in a position of trust, but she betrayed that trust. He further said that he viewed Mutsika’s willingness to pay back the money, as a bargaining tool and as a ticket to keep her out of prison.
Therefore, a sentence of imprisonment was appropriate and criminal conduct has consequences.
</blockquote>
| <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/zim-woman-jailed-in-sa-for-stealing-r800-000-tithe-money/">The Herald</a>

Seventh-day Adventist Zim Woman Jailed In SA For Stealing Tithe Money

Speaking to The Sunday Mail, cleric Prince Wonderful said churches should stop collecting tithes as these are Old Testament practices specifically prescribed by God to the Israelites.
Wonderful said Malachi 3:10 which is used to justify collection of tithes was meant for the Israelites and says the verse should be contextualised with Malachi 1:1, which says, “Prophecy: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.” He said Jesus Christ did not survive on tithes but people willingly supported His ministry. Wonderful said pastors should do the same. Said Wonderful:
<blockquote>I have never collected any tithes or offerings since 2013. This is the true gospel because Jesus never preached that we pay tithes; that was a Jewish practice. We are not Jews but we were Gentiles until the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even Paul wrote in Ephesians 2 verses 11-16 that those who were not Jews were referred to as Gentiles or unclean, but the coming of Jesus Christ changed the game as everyone who believes in the Son of God is an heir of the kingdom. If we are followers of Christ, why then should we stick to the Old Testament teachings of tithes and offerings? The true gospel is that pastors ought not to survive from tithes but from wilful support from those who want to support the gospel.</blockquote>
Wonderful’s church has no name but he told Sunday Mail it is “a gathering of fellow heirs”.
More: <a href="http://www.sundaymail.co.zw/stop-taking-tithes-says-prophet/">Sunday Mail</a>

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