Aspiring Nurse Caught Using Forged O’Level Certificate, Fined US$350

A 20-year-old man from Chiredzi District in Masvingo Province has been fined US$350, or faces three months in prison, after being found guilty of fraud and forgery.

The offender, Jonathan Mukwena, tried to get a place on the nursing training programme at Mpilo Central Hospital using a fake Ordinary Level certificate.

Mukwena appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Beverly Madzikatire, who handed down the sentence on Tuesday.

Mukwena was fined US$150 for forgery, or three months in prison if he doesn’t pay, and a further US$200 for fraud. He has until 15 January 2026 to pay the fines.

The court heard that Mukwena used the fake certificate when applying for the highly competitive nursing intake at the central hospital.

Prosecutor Sibusisiwe Sithole told the court that Mukwena sat his Ordinary Level exams in November 2022 at Dzoro High School in Chiredzi.

He took six subjects, achieving “B” grades in Shona and Geography, and “D” grades in Combined Science, English Language, Commerce, and Mathematics.

More: Chronicle

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