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Court Reporter
A processing officer with the Registrar-General’s Department yesterday appeared in court on allegations of issuing a national identity card – which was later used to steal from a bank – without verification.
Lackson Farirepi (38), in charge of Magaba sub-office in Harare, appeared before magistrate Mr Tendai Mahwe facing charges of criminal abuse of duty as a public officer.

Farirepi was remanded to April 30, 2014 on US$100 bail and was ordered to surrender his passport to the court, report once every week at Police CID Serious Frauds and to reside at his given address.

The complainant in the matter is the Registrar-General Department’s acting provincial registrar for Harare Metropolitan province, Mr Simon Muchemenye.

Prosecutor Ms Sharon Mashavira alleged that on October 8 last year, Farirepi issued a national identity card (75-289514 C 13) to a man claiming his name was Bekapi Sithole.

Farirepi did not take fingerprints for verification with the National Fingerprints Bureau but still issued the plastic identity card.
The identity card was later used to open an FBC Bank account (number 6135130522012) in the name of ZMDC (Pvt) Limited, in imitation of ZMDC Management Services Limited Company.

On January 13 this year, a daily internal payment instruction worth US$104 200 was fraudulently transferred from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development’s FBC account into the account created with the allegedly unverified ID card.

The plastic identity card was then used to withdraw US$10 000 from the account.