Three former personnel of Hurungwe Children’s Home in Karoi have been arraigned on charges of burglary and theft of an assortment of clothing meant for orphaned children.
Most of the items stolen were donated by Zimbabwean philanthropist and businessman Strive Masiyiwa through his charity organisation, Higher Life Foundation.
On April 1, 2021 at around 3pm, Ezekiel Mashuro, a former resident of the Children’s Home, alerted a social development officer of a broken windowpane and burglar bars that were vandalised on the dining room.
Tinotenda Rudolph Moraka (37), Arisita Kandengwa (48), and Dorcas Kachikira (58) appeared in court Monday facing unlawful entry charges.
Moraka is a former security guard at the orphanage while Kandengwa and Kachikira are both ex-administrators at the institution which has temporarily closed due to mismanagement.
Christine Gundiro who is employed by the Department of Social Welfare as Hurungwe district social development officer instituted the suit against the trio.
Some of the stolen items include 150 assorted bedspreads branded ‘Higher Life Foundation’, 45 assorted bales of hand-me-downs, 26 assorted blankets and four wooden chairs.
Police investigations led to the recovery of a blanket dumped in a maize field, some 50 metres from the home.
Detectives also recovered 1x50kg of second-hand clothes and one blanket at Moraka’s residence in Chiedza. Kachikira was busted while in possession of 4x50kg bales of clothes, two blankets, shoes, among other items at her Chikangwe residence.
The stolen goods are valued at $720,000 and property worth $176,000 were recovered. The orphanage has been guarded by Fawcett Security Company for days after its closure as the inmates were moved to Kadoma Training Institute.