BINDURA – Armshell Tagwida, the 27-year-old branch manager of OK Zimbabwe in Chegutu, has appeared in Bindura Magistrate Court facing charges of defrauding his employer of over ZiG 500,000 in a swipe card scam.
Tagwida, who was charged with fraud by prosecutor Ms. Sheila Maribha, appeared before Magistrate Felix Chamunorwa. The prosecution alleges that between January and August of this year, Tagwida unlawfully credited funds into four corporate Shop Easy debit cards at the OK Chegutu branch. He is accused of executing these transactions without providing any proof of deposit, using the password of Moline Nyagomo to facilitate the fraudulent activities.
The prosecutor outlined that Tagwida transferred 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 then handed over to Takundanashe Nhemwa, a till supervisor at OK Zimbabwe in Bindura, who is now on the run.
Nhemwa allegedly used these cards to swipe groceries totaling ZiG 525,173.25 at the OK Zimbabwe Bindura branch. The fraudulent activities were uncovered during routine financial audits, with CCTV footage confirming Nhemwa as the individual making the transactions.
After Tagwida’s arrest, detectives recovered US$782 hidden under his bed and groceries worth ZiG 44,009.28 that had not yet been collected by Nhemwa. The case underscores significant internal fraud concerns within OK Zimbabwe, with investigations continuing as authorities pursue Nhemwa.
