WOMAN SQUANDERS FRIEND'S HOUSING STAND CASH

A Bulawayo woman has been jailed after misappropriating US$1 040 that a friend had entrusted to her to buy a residential stand.

Rejoice Ncube, 48, of Luveve suburb, was convicted of theft of trust property by Bulawayo magistrate Mr Maxwell Ncube, who said she had abused a position of trust by using the money for personal gain.

“She converted the funds for her own purposes instead of buying the stand as agreed,” the magistrate said.

Ncube was sentenced to one year in prison, with four months suspended on condition she pays a US$300 fine, another three months suspended if she repays the victim, and the remaining five months suspended if she completes 175 hours of community service at Percy Ibbotson Primary School.

Prosecutor Mr Mehluli Ndlovu told court that on 22 August, Rejoice met her friend Nohlanhla Dube outside the Bulawayo city centre and promised to purchase a residential stand on her behalf. Dube handed over US$1 040 for the purpose, but Ncube kept the money for herself, violating the trust agreement.

The court heard that the full amount, US$1 040, was never recovered.

In a similar case highlighting the scourge of trust theft, another Bulawayo woman, 35-year-old Nothando Banana, pocketed US$24 000 during an armed robbery at her workplace and was jailed for an effective six years in July. B Metro

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