By Victor Fanuel
HARARE — Two Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) data capturer clerks have been remanded in custody after they were arrested over an alleged vehicle licensing scam that the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) says generated more than US$1 million through the fraudulent issuance of driver’s licences.
Tinotenda Maningi and Chrison Chipanda appeared before the Harare Magistrates Court on July 30 and were remanded in custody to August 4.
ZACC alleges the pair worked with two accomplices, Ebenezzer Zvidza and Emmanuel Mushonga, who are still at large, to manipulate the VID’s computerised licensing system and fraudulently issue learner’s licences and Certificates of Competency to about 500 people who had neither undergone mandatory competency tests nor met the legal requirements.
According to investigators, the accused unlawfully accessed and manipulated electronic user accounts belonging to other VID officers to process and authorise the fraudulent transactions, masking their identities and compromising the system’s audit trails.
The commission further alleges they generated fake official payment receipts falsely showing that statutory licensing fees had been paid into government accounts.
Instead, applicants were allegedly instructed to bypass official government payment channels and pay bribes of between US$200 and more than US$500 for the illicit documents.
Investigators also allege the accused worked with accomplices at the Central Vehicle Registry to facilitate the fraudulent processing of the licences, with a significant number of the beneficiaries said to be foreign nationals.
ZACC said investigations into the alleged syndicate are continuing as authorities pursue the two outstanding suspects.
