Bulawayo council officer vanishes after church booking fraud exposed

A Bulawayo City Council clerical officer has reportedly gone absent without official leave (AWOL) after being implicated in a church booking scam that cost the council over US$2,000 in losses.

According to an internal audit report, the fraud involved the illegal use of the Large City Hall for church services on five separate occasions without payment. The scam, which exploited weak internal controls, led to a confirmed financial loss of US$2,072.05 for the local authority.

The investigation was launched after the Town Clerk’s office raised concerns about the authenticity of the church’s hall bookings. Auditors discovered that receipt number 0151638434 had been used twice — once legitimately and once fraudulently.

On June 21, 2024, the church paid US$415 for hall hire and received the receipt, which auditors noted did not include specified dates or times. Two days later, a booking was logged by a security officer, Mr. Maickel Ndlovu, for June 23 from 10:00 to 14:00 — details that were not recorded on the original receipt, suggesting the church used the venue without proper authorization or additional payment.

In a further twist, the same receipt was reused on July 14, 2024, appearing on a Council Services Form (CS Form 573), fraudulently extending hall usage by an extra hour. Another receipt, number 0141590226, was also found to have been duplicated.

During interviews, a church representative, Mr. Charamba, admitted to reusing receipts, claiming he had received them from council officer Mr. Busani Nyoni in exchange for local currency payments. Charamba pledged to repay the council, although the audit has now raised deeper concerns.

The probe also revealed alarming irregularities dating back to 2023. That year, the same church reportedly used council facilities 25 times but only paid for six bookings. While it made bulk payments totaling ZWL 7,415,659.46, auditors found that the legitimate usage only amounted to ZWL 3,920,254.16.

“These discrepancies raise suspicion of possible money laundering if not linked to system failures in adjusting for exchange rates or policy changes,” warned the audit report.

The accused council officer, whose name has not been disclosed, has not reported for duty since the investigation began, prompting fears of a cover-up or an attempt to evade justice.

City authorities are expected to launch a full disciplinary and criminal investigation into the matter.