WhatsApp admin arrested over exam leak scandal

Munyaradzi Mashiri-—Court Correspondent

A 23-year-old polytechnic student has appeared in court facing allegations of orchestrating a mass exam paper leak via WhatsApp, throwing the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council into panic and halting exam printing processes.

Tadiwanashe Frank Chiminya, of Mbizo in Kwekwe, is accused of creating a WhatsApp group titled “June 2025 ZIMSEC Group and Exam Papers,” which grew to more than 900 members. He appeared before Harare magistrate Ruth Moyo on fraud charges.

The complainant in the case is ZIMSEC.

According to the state, represented by prosecutor Nomsa Kangara, Chiminya allegedly set up the group in November 2024 using an Econet number, 0787815406. He falsely claimed to possess leaked Ordinary and Advanced Level ZIMSEC papers and solicited payments from students. Group members were reportedly instructed to send money via Innbucks to an account linked to Admire Magaya, associated with a second number, 0784128996.

Investigations began after ZIMSEC received a tip-off and infiltrated the group through an invite link. Upon confirming the allegations, the matter was reported to the police.

Detective Constable Inspector Sizinkosi Ncube, the investigating officer, opposed bail, telling the court that Chiminya had delayed unlocking his phone for nearly six hours and posed a flight risk due to the seriousness of the offense.

He added that ZIMSEC had suspended the printing of exam papers pending investigations into the source of the leak.

Chiminya was arrested on April 12 at his Kwekwe residence. Police recovered an iPhone, a Tecno Spark 9, and three SIM cards—including the two numbers used in the scam.

The court reserved the ruling on bail to Thursday.

The state said Chiminya’s actions had significantly damaged ZIMSEC’s credibility and disrupted the examination process.