BINDURA – The branch manager of OK Zimbabwe in Chegutu, Armshell Tagwida (27), has appeared in Bindura Magistrate Court on charges of defrauding his employer of over ZiG 500,000 in a swipe card scam.
Tagwida is facing fraud charges brought against him by the prosecutor, Ms. Sheila Maribha, before Magistrate Felix Chamunorwa.
According to the prosecution, between January and August this year, Tagwida illegally credited funds into four corporate Shop Easy debit cards at the OK Chegutu branch. He allegedly carried out the transactions without providing proof of deposit and used the password of Moline Nyagomo to execute the fraudulent activities.
The prosecutor detailed that Tagwida credited ZiG 157,659.04 to the DA’s office, ZiG 107,404 to St Mark High School, ZiG 164,356.51 to Brand Agro, and ZiG 144,898.95 to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. These four debit cards were subsequently handed over to Takundanashe Nhemwa, a till supervisor at OK Bindura, who is now on the run.
Nhemwa allegedly used the debit cards to swipe groceries worth ZiG 525,173.25 at the OK Zimbabwe Bindura branch. The fraudulent activity was discovered during financial statement audits, and CCTV footage confirmed Nhemwa as the individual using the debit cards.
Following Tagwida’s arrest, detectives recovered US$782 from his home, hidden under a bed, as well as groceries worth ZiG 44,009.28 that had not yet been collected by Nhemwa.
The case highlights significant internal fraud challenges within OK Zimbabwe, with the investigation ongoing as authorities continue to search for Nhemwa.