Munyaradzi Mashiri
Court Correspondent
A 33-year-old woman accused of orchestrating a cyber fraud scheme involving a US$9,064 payment intended for a Harare lodge has appeared in court.
Wadzanai Mutungura appeared before magistrate Rufaro Panavanhu, facing charges of hacking and fraud. She was remanded out of custody to February 11.
The complainant, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe, was represented by its Finance Manager, Mr. Jephias Ticharwa. Prosecutor Rufaro Chonzi alleged that Mutungura and her accomplices intercepted a financial transaction between POTRAZ and Wild Geese Lodge in October 2024.
According to court documents, POTRAZ had arranged a three-day workshop for 60 participants at Wild Geese Lodge, with the total cost of bookings amounting to US$9,064.
On October 7, POTRAZ communicated with Wild Geese Lodge via the email address makonese@potraz.zw. The lodge provided its legitimate banking details for payment. However, Mutungura allegedly conspired with Patricia Shumbahuru and Kudzai Fredboth, who are already on remand, to intercept this communication.
The group reportedly hacked into the email exchange and sent a fraudulent email to POTRAZ from gm.wildgeese@outlook.com, posing as representatives of the lodge. They falsely claimed that the lodge’s banking details had changed and provided new account details linked to a Stanbic Bank account registered under Mutungura’s niece, Nyasha Regret Neruwana.
Unaware of the scam, POTRAZ transferred US$9,064 from its ZB Bank account to the fraudulent Stanbic Bank account.
The fraud was uncovered the following day when Mukudzei Murenga, a representative of Wild Geese Lodge, contacted POTRAZ to follow up on the payment. A verification process revealed that the email from gm.wildgeese@outlook.com contained altered banking details.
A police report was filed on October 25, leading to the arrest of Mutungura and her alleged accomplices.
The stolen funds have not yet been recovered.
The case highlights the growing risks of cybercrime and the importance of verifying sensitive financial communications.
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