Harare City Council ICT Officer in Court Over US$20K Fraud

A City of Harare Information and Communication Technology (ICT) employee has appeared in court facing allegations of tampering with the local authority’s financial system and siphoning more than US$20,000 from client accounts.

The accused, David Madzivanyika, who has since been suspended from his duties, appeared before Harare Provincial Magistrate Mr Artwell Sanyatwe over the weekend. He was granted bail while the matter is pending before the courts.

According to court proceedings, the complainant is the City of Harare, represented by senior systems analyst Mostard Mashiringo (51). The State case is being handled by prosecutor Ms Polite Chikiwa.

Prosecutors allege that Madzivanyika unlawfully accessed and manipulated the council’s financial system, resulting in the misappropriation of US$20,627 belonging to ratepayers.

The alleged offence came to light in late November 2025 after several clients raised concerns over discrepancies in their account balances with the council’s Revenue Division. The complaints triggered suspicions of possible irregularities within the system.

In response, Acting ICT head William Mugobogobo ordered an internal probe, assigning Mashiringo to lead the investigation into the anomalies.

The inquiry reportedly uncovered inconsistencies between figures recorded in sub-ledgers and those reflected in the main ledger system. Further analysis of system logs pointed to a superuser account linked to the accused, which investigators believe may have been used to alter financial records.

Despite the findings, no funds have been recovered to date, and the case is still ongoing before the courts.