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Court Reporter
A Twenty-five-year-OLD United Family International Church (UFIC) congregant who duped the church of $9 500 he collected from selling service video discs was yesterday sentenced to 140 hours of community.

Tendai Guchu, employed as a stock controller at Mak-media Productions, with the duties of distributing service video discs and selling them was facing theft of trust property charges.

Harare magistrate Ms Nomsa Sabarauta initially slapped Guchu with 24 months imprisonment and suspended four months for five years on condition of good behaviour. She also suspended 16 months on condition that he restitutes $9 500 by June 30 and set aside another four months on condition that he performs 140 hours of community service at Chinembiri Primary School.

Guchu pleaded guilty to the charges saying he used the money to buy a car and a stand because he had gone for months without being paid.

Prosecutor Mr Devoted Nyagano proved that during the period extending from January 2015-2016 Guchu distributed video discs to salespersons identified as Amanda Kavhai and Alex Robson.

The court heard that after every service Guchu collected money from them and instead of handing over the money to the church he converted it to his own use.

Guchu also sold some discs himself and failed to handover the money to the church.

As a result UFIC church lost $9 500 and nothing was recovered.