ZIMSEC Says Eight Exam Fraudsters Arrested

The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) said that eight suspects, among them, a 52-year-old man, have been arrested for various fraudulent activities since the commencement of the 2023 public examinations. A statement released by ZIMSEC reads:

The Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) issued a statement on the 15th of October 2023, informing the nation that some fraudsters had been marketing and selling fake 2023 November examination papers on social media platforms.

ZIMSEC wishes to give the following update on examination malpractice cases to the nation and our stakeholders as of the 23rd of October 2023,

1. At the time of writing this statement there are no ZIMSEC November 2023 Examinations Candidates who had pre-access to the 2023 question papers in as far as the Examinations which were sat for.

2. Investigations were done to weed out the fraudsters who were capitalising on unsuspecting candidates. As a result of the investigations, there have been some arrests and culprits have appeared before the courts.

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a) ZIMSEC Security and Loss Control Officers with the assistance of members of the Commercial Crime Department of the Zimbabwe Republic Police arrested Cole Mutandwa of Kuwadzana after he was implicated in advertising and selling fake ZIMSEC Examination Question Papers. Mutandwa implicated Paddington Nhedza a first-year student at the Midlands State University, as the source of the fake question papers found in his cell phone. Cole Mutandwa appeared before the Magistrate at Rotten Row courts on the 18th of October where he admitted to the charge of fraud. He was convicted and sentenced to pay a fine of USD100 or 3 months imprisonment.

Paddington Nhedza was brought to Harare where after being interviewed he revealed to the investigating officers that he got the fake scanned copy of Maths question paper 1 from Alishah T Mangisi an Ordinary Level student at Emmanuel Centre of Excellence located in Kuwadzana Extension. Alishah claimed to have taken the fake question paper off a WhatsApp group, Slimy Intertainment (a group for models) and forwarded it to Paddington for assistance in finding the solutions.

Paddington Nhedza appeared before a magistrate at Harare Magistrates Court on the 21st of October 2023. He pleaded not guilty and was remanded out of custody to the 25th of October 2023. Alishah T Mangisi will be taken to court on the 24th of October 2023, since she was scheduled to sit for the ZIMSEC Commerce Paper on the 23rd of October 2023. All accused persons are being charged for being found in possession of articles for criminal use, as defined in section 40 of the Criminal Law (codification and reform act chapter 9:23)

b) The Investigations team arrested George Bukuta, aged 52, after being alerted by a vigilant invigilator at Life Long College who noticed that Bukuta was impersonating an examinations candidate using a passport which showed a date of birth of 05.04.1995 belonging to Shadreck Mutsau. After being apprehended Bukuta confessed that he had been paid USD200 by Shadreck Mutsau, candidate number 5036, to write Advanced level Family and Religious Studies and History on his behalf. Both parties have been apprehended and are awaiting to appear before the courts.

c) On the 20th of October 2023, the Investigations team was alerted of an attempt by Mr Simbarashe Chifura, who was conducting extra lessons at his place of residence in Budiriro 1. Mr Chifura approached Mr Edwell Tazvivinga a teacher at Danbrough College proposing a deal to smuggle a ZIMSEC Examinations answer sheet out of the Examinations room which he intended to use to write Ordinary Level Combined Science paper 2 for external candidate number 3112, Monica Mikairi. Mr Tazvivinga alerted his superiors who contacted Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education officials and the ZRP who set a plan to catch the culprit in the act. In the examination. Monica Mikairi was observed as she sat and did not write anything throughout the whole session. Meanwhile, Simbarashe Chifura assigned a motor mechanic, Patrick Zhanje to go and collect the answer sheet. The Police apprehended Patrick Zhanje handing over the answer sheet to Mr Chifura and took both of them into custody. The culprits appeared before the Magistrates’ court in Mbare on the 21st of October 2023.

3. In light of the above cases identified during these investigations, ZIMSEC continues to roll out strategies and measures to tighten the security wherever question papers are, in transit and in custody, pending the writing of the examinations. Investigation teams remain on the ground and vigilant to weed out any residual unscrupulous elements within and without the chain.

4. ZIMSEC applauds the vigilance and integrity of Centre Administrators and invigilators who are working tirelessly to maintain the integrity of the examinations and education system of the nation as a whole.

ZIMSEC is committed to upholding the integrity of the examination system in the country. We wish to thank the public and all our stakeholders for their interest and cooperation to ensure the integrity of our examination system. ZIMSEC wishes to thank the ZRP, state security agencies and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education for working around the clock and leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the perpetrators of all examinations malpractices are brought to book.

More: Pindula News