Headmaster Ordered To Perform 245 Hours Of Community Service For Stealing US$792 In Exam Fees

A 35-year-old headmaster from Bindura has been ordered to perform 245 hours of community service after stealing US$792 meant for the 2025 Grade Seven examination fees of 12 pupils.

Kudakwashe Tivarige, who was headmaster at Sunrise Group of Schools in Maravanyika Village under Chief Masembura, was convicted of theft of trust property after diverting funds paid through the school’s accounts office between February 2024 and January 2025.

The school’s directors had instructed him to register the pupils at Dengu Primary School, since Sunrise is not an examination centre.

Instead, he pocketed the money and misled parents by claiming the pupils had been registered to sit for exams at Maravanyika Primary School.

The scam unravelled when school director, Martha Masiachengo, checked with the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council (ZIMSEC) and discovered that the pupils’ names were not on the register.

A report was subsequently filed at ZRP Manhenga, leading to Tivarige’s arrest. None of the stolen money was recovered.

Tivarige was sentenced to 12 months in prison, with three months suspended on condition of good behaviour and another three months suspended if he pays back the stolen US$792.

The remaining six months were commuted to 245 hours of community service, which he will perform at Manhenga Clinic.

More: The Herald

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