HARARE – A Harare woman who was employed as a house maid by a Chinese national allegedly stole US$107,000 from her employer in connivance with two police officers before she tried to escape to South Africa to evade arrest.
Marvelous Mapfumo appeared before Harare magistrate Dennis Mangosi who remanded her in custody awaiting bail hearing.
Her suspected accomplices who are police detectives, Hebert Kurebgwaseka and Paul Kondo are on the run.
Prosecuting, Thomas Chanakira alleged that the trio stole the money which was being kept by the complainant, Sis Lin at her Highlands home in Harare on May 30 this year.
On 12 June 2024, the court was told, detectives from Bulawayo received information from a reliable source that Mapfumo was on her way to South Africa, via Botswana, aboard a haulage truck.
They followed up on the information and managed to locate and arrest her.
“The accused person was then escorted to CID Highlands, Harare on 13 June.
“After a brief interview, the accused person indicated that she committed the crime together with Kurebgwaseka and Kondo who are police detectives stationed at Central Criminal Bureau, Harare,” said Chanakira.
She said after stealing the money, they went to Ekhaya Lodge in Waterfalls where they booked a room and counted the money, which they then shared among themselves, with Kurebgwaseka and Kondo taking US$30,000 each while Mapfumo took US$47,000 from the loot.
Kurebgwaseka went on to take Mapfumo’s share of US$47,000 claiming this was for safekeeping since they feared she was now being tracked by detectives.
Kondo later took Mapfumo to his girlfriend, Tracey Madzima’s house in Sunningdale, to restrict her from talking to anyone.
He then arranged her trip to South Africa to evade arrest.
