By Kudzaishe Chimonera
A 27-year-old Harare man has been sentenced to an effective two years in prison after defrauding a healthcare recruitment company of nearly US$70 000 by falsely claiming he could secure United Kingdom employment sponsorship certificates.
The National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe (NPAZ) said Takunda McDonald Pfende was convicted of fraud by the Harare Magistrates’ Court following a scheme in which he promised to obtain UK Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) for healthcare workers seeking employment abroad.
According to prosecutors, the offence was committed between May and July 2023.
“Between May and July 2023, Pfende falsely claimed he could secure UK Certificates of Sponsorship (CoS) for healthcare workers,” the NPAZ said in a statement.
The court heard that Path Quest Overseas (Private) Limited, a Zimbabwean company that trains healthcare professionals for overseas employment, collected US$5 000 from each of 58 clients before transferring a total of US$69 856 to Pfende to facilitate the sponsorship certificates.
However, the promised documents were never produced.
“The offender failed to deliver, became evasive, and the company was forced to reimburse its clients before reporting the matter to police,” the NPAZ said.
Investigations established that Pfende had no authority or capacity to obtain UK Certificates of Sponsorship and had misrepresented his ability to facilitate the immigration process.
The court also heard that none of the money lost by the company has been recovered.
Pfende was initially sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.
One year of the sentence was suspended on condition of good behaviour while a further two years were suspended on condition that he restitutes US$65 665 to the complainant.
He will therefore serve an effective two-year prison term.
