Parents with children Matjinge School in Bulilima East district have expressed dismay over the outcome of a court case in which an official at the school was accused of misappropriating school funds.
The issue came to light after the parents petitioned the government and school authorities on the low pass rate at the school and alleged financial misappropriation of school funds among other issues.
It was then discovered that Siphilisiwe Msebele, who was employed as an accounts clerk at the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe-run school was allegedly embezzling the funds.
The matter was later reported to the police leading to Msebele’s arrest and subsequent appearance in court.
However, the parents are not happy with the court proceedings which they said were not communicated to them.
Speaking to CITE, close sources revealed that the parents convened a meeting on 20 October 2022 to get an update on the case.
“It was in that meeting where the school board told us about the court outcome. What shocked us is that the letter had a letterhead from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID)Plumtree and it was signed by the officer in charge of CID Plumtree and as parents, we think there is corruption that took place,” said one parent.
According to the letter which was addressed to the Headmaster of Matjinge Primary School, Siphilisiwe Msebele was charged with 74 counts of fraud defined in section 136 (a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 09:23 involving a total amount of R17 175-00.
She was convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment wholly suspended on condition that she restitutes the school ZWL$323 122-00.
Another parent said they were not even informed about the court date.
“We were not even informed about the court date, we never attended it, we only saw a letter that was said to be the outcome. As parents we want our money in rands because it was R17 175-00 but the court said Siphilisiwe Msebele should pay ZWL$323 122-00, according to the current bank rate it amounts to R6 000,” they said.
Another parent said they were not happy that Msebele was given the option to pay the money in instalments.
“We don’t even know up to when since we were not present during the court case. There were receipts books which Siphilisiwe Msebele stole and hid. The auditor only recovered one book which had 17 missing pages, and the court dismissed that case and said there was no proof,” said the parent.
She added, “There are some parents who were paying cash but were not given receipts and the court ruled that such parents should be the ones who report that case not the School Development Committee and the Administration since there is no proof but parents are complaining about transport fares going to report the issue. They need R200 to go to Plumtree.”
The parents said the sad scenario is that the school wants their money from those parents who paid to Msebele and were not given receipts because they are still regarded as owing the school.
“Parents are saying the issue should be removed from the courts so that they can be able to engage her and pay the money in foreign currency so that they can live in harmony since they come from the same community.
“As parents we are not happy about how the issue was handled because we were disrespected, Siphilisiwe did not respect the community, she even made us fight with the church only to turn out that it was one of our community members,” she said
