Gweru man uses fake MSU degree to get job

A Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development employee recently used a fake Midlands State University degree to gain promotion at his workplace. Anyway Mavima, 42, who was now a Dairy Livestock Specialist in the Department of Livestock Production and Development, was yesterday convicted on his own plea of guilty by Gweru magistrate, Florence Nago. Mavima, of House Number 67, Woodlands Park in Gweru was sentenced to a suspended 18 months in prison. The first nine months were suspended on condition that he pays a fine of $600. Nago suspended a further six months on condition he pays a restitution of $574 to the Ministry before September 30 this year. The restitution is meant to compensate the employer for revenue lost through a promotion based on fake qualifications. The remaining three months were suspended on condition that Mavima is not within the next five years convicted of a similar offence. Prosecuting, Daniel Tafuma told the court that sometime this year, Mavima enrolled for a degree programme at the MSU. Tafuma said on 8 July this year, an internal audit team from the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development conducted an investigation to find out if Mavima had an approved Manpower Development leave since he was alleged to be studying for a degree at the local university. Tafuma said the internal audit team checked Mavima’s personal work file and discovered that there was a degree certificate number C230 which was completed in 2007 for the programme, BSC Natural Resource Management and Agriculture General Degree. The said degree was tendered for promotion to the Ministry by Mavima in September 2009. The court also heard that an inquiry was made at MSU to find out if Mavima was ever a student there. It was discovered that Mavima was studying at the institution and had just written his end of semester examinations in May this year. Tafuma also said the matter was then reported to the police and investigations made at MSU reveals that the degree certificate number C230 was fake. This caused the Ministry to suffer a prejudice of $574 after Mavima was promoted using the fake degree.- CHRONICLE

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