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Sheillah Mapani Herald Reporter
An assistant accountant to the Board of Censors in the Ministry of Home Affairs, George Chabata, appeared in court last Friday charged with stealing $9 879 from the ministry.

Chabata appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Gideon Ruvetsa facing charges of theft of trust property.

He was remanded to January 11 on $200 bail.

Chabata’s duties included collecting fees from foreign-based artists and organisations performing in the country and receipting and banking them.

The prosecutor, Ms Linda Gadzikwa, alleged that during the period extending from April 9, 2013 to August 15, 2015, Chabata received fees from various artists amounting to $3 598 that he was supposed to bank at the Ministry of Home Affairs’ head office.

The court heard that Chabata banked $1 997 and converted $1 601 to his own use.

It is the State’s case that during the period from October 2015 to 2017, Chabata received censor fees amounting to $7 140 from various artists and converted all of it to his own use.

It is alleged that during the same period, Chabata received fuel coupons from the Ministry of Home Affairs’ head office for 740 litres of diesel and 120 litres of petrol — all valued at $1 137 — for use by Board of Censors’ members.

He allegedly did not disburse the fuel coupons to the beneficiaries, but converted them to his own use.

The offence was discovered after an internal audit was carried out and the matter was reported to the police, leading to Chabata’s arrest.