MAN STEALS DEAD FRIEND'S $2K

A MAN from Bulawayo allegedly stole his late best friend’s sim card which was linked to his bank account and withdrew more than $2 000.

Sevina Ncube (41) allegedly stole John Phiri’s sim card from his son Nkosiyapha Phiri (26) at the funeral wake where he was the master of ceremony.

He allegedly withdrew $2 678 from his late friend’s bank account and bought a car radio with part of the money.

Ncube was not asked to plead to theft when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Mr Tinashe Tashaya who remanded the matter to today for trial.

Prosecuting, Mr Tawurai Hondoyemoto alleged that Phiri, who was an employee of the National Railways of Zimbabwe, died on January 16 this year leaving his CABS bank account number that was linked to an Econet line.

The sim card was taken by his son Nkosiyapha. The prosecutor said Nkosiyapha had used the sim card during the funeral to call some of the relatives informing them about his father’s passing.

“Ncube was the master of ceremony and was always in close proximity to Nkosiyabo throughout the funeral making all necessary arrangements. After the burial, Nkosiyabo realised that the sim card was nowhere to be found and thought he had misplaced it,” he said.

“He did not bother looking for it as he assumed no one needed it. On March 12, he was summoned to the NRZ pension fund offices where he was advised that his late father’s estate owed the institution $68.48 prompting him to disagree since he and his family were still waiting for the funeral grant.”

Mr Hondoyemoto said Nkosiyabo was advised that that money had been deposited into his father’s bank account. He went to the bank where he discovered that the money had been transferred to two numbers which belonged to Ncube.

“He reported the matter to the police after discovering that his late father’s sim card which he assumed to have been misplaced had been stolen.

“Investigations showed that $155 had been transferred through EcoCash to an employee at Wind Systems trade in the city centre which was payment for a Pioneer car radio,” the prosecutor said. Chronicle

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