Former ZESA Employee In Court For Allegedly Defrauding The Company Of Over US$20,000

A former employee of ZESA Holdings, Joseph Wagusiwa (39), appeared before Harare magistrate Dennis Mangosi charged with defrauding the power utility of US$20,456. He was granted bail of US$200, and the case was adjourned until December 1. The complainant in the case is ZESA Holdings, represented by Bodwell Masakadza, a forensic and loss control officer.

According to the prosecution, Wagusiwa and his alleged accomplice, Darlington Chiputura, manipulated ZESA Holdings’ credit systems between January 2018 and March 2021. They created fraudulent credits for electricity tokens to be given to ZESA Holdings clients. Wagusiwa advertised on social media that he was selling electricity tokens, leading 242 clients to purchase them. He provided Chiputura with the clients’ electricity meter numbers, and Chiputura bought electricity tokens for them using his EcoCash number.

Wagusiwa would then supply ZESA Holdings with amounts less than the value of the tokens. The fraudulent activity was discovered during an audit conducted by Grant Thornton Forensic Auditors on behalf of ZESA Holdings.