Rutendo Ngara
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
TWO Harare men, allegedly doing a side job similar to what they do at their company, Open Gold Enterprises, appeared in court yesterday where they were granted US$100 bail.
The company specialises in coach building and truck body supplies. The company’s administrator, Kenneth Nyakungwe, and workshop manager, Kennedy Chiwara, appeared before Harare provincial magistrate Tapiwa Kuhudzai facing charges of corruptly concealing interests to their principal.
It is alleged that on July 10, 2025, Nyakungwe created a quotation on behalf of his employer for Superlinx Logistics valued at US$6 468 for the supply of door capping.
On July 14, Nyakungwe mistakenly printed a quotation in the name of Fosterwell Investments on his employer’s office printer.
The complainant then discovered that the quotation was being sent to his client, Superlinx Logistics, for similar products valued at US$5 000. The complainant instructed Nyakungwe to bring his laptop, which was then inspected by his IT personnel in the presence of the two accused. They discovered a folder with seven quotations from Fosterwell Investments on the company laptop.
The court heard that when questioned, both accused persons stopped attending work, and Chiwara refused to surrender the storeroom keys or respond to calls.
A subsequent stocktake revealed that 100 door cappings, each five meters in length, were missing from the storeroom under Chiwara’s control.
“Preliminary investigations indicated that accused one had supplied similar products to Superlinx Logistics under the alias Fosterwell Investments, without the knowledge or approval of the complainant, despite being employed by the company,” the State alleges.
Due to the accused person’s actions, the complainant suffered an actual prejudice of US$6 468 from the stolen property and lost business because the accused were acting as competitors while still employed by the complainant, the State alleges.