Glaudina Residents Lose Fraud Case Against Represe...

Glaudina Residents Lose Fraud Case Against Representatives of Unregistered School

What Is the Difference Between Criminal and Civil Fraud?

Zim Now Reporter

A Harare magistrate has acquitted two officials of a private school in Glaudina after they were accused of defrauding parents of US$7,500 in enrolment fees, saying the matter should be presented to the civil court.

Thomas Mutsvene and Tariro Patsikadova were charged with fraud for allegedly collecting fees from 60 pupils while operating an unregistered school in 2023.

The state alleged the duo misled parents by posing as the headteacher and school development committee chairperson, respectively, for the institution, which was operating without proper registration.

Further, the state alleged that Mutsvene and Patsikadova knowingly collected fees despite knowing of the school’s impending closure, forcing parents to make another payment of US$70 per child for council registration. The court, however, found insufficient evidence for a criminal conviction.

Magistrate Ishmael Shayanewako ruled that the state failed to prove the two were the school’s owners, noting they operated it on behalf of the Glaudina community.

He also highlighted the absence of witnesses to confirm why the accused were responsible for registration.