Sticky-fingered man gets 30 months behind bars
In a cautionary tale for would-be thieves, a 39-year-old service station employee has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for stealing a staggering US$42,557 from his employer during the 2023 Christmas holidays.
Ringisai Tagwirei, a worker at the DA Service Station in Zvishavane, was entrusted with the office keys on the 24th of December, but instead of handing them off to the next shift as required, he allegedly used them to gain access to the safe and clean it out.
In a statement, the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe revealed that the theft was discovered the following morning when Tagwirei’s supervisor returned to find no handover had taken place. A review of the surveillance footage quickly exposed the employee’s nefarious activities.
Authorities were promptly notified, and Tagwirei was arrested in Harare. A Nissan AD that he had purchased using the stolen money was also recovered, though only US$5,000 of the total amount was able to be returned to the complainant.
While Tagwirei was initially slapped with an 80-month prison term, 18 months were suspended for 5 years, and a further 32 months were suspended on the condition that he pays US$37,557 in restitution to his former employer. This leaves him with an effective 30-month sentence behind bars.
