MARONDERA-based Proton Bakery has taken its human resources manager Thomas Rugoho to court on 10 counts of fraud for allegedly fleecing several jobseekers of various amounts of money after promising to secure them employment.
Rugoho (40) and his alleged accomplice Moses Nyarufaro (35) are today expected to appear before Marondera magistrate Tendai Muchini for trial. Rugoho is currently on $100 bail.
The State alleges that sometime between February and November last year, several job seekers paid between $100 and $200 to Rugoho’s alleged middleman Nyarufaro in order to secure employment at the bakery.
It is alleged that Nyarufaro took the money and the job seekers’ academic qualification and contact details to Rugoho and then shared the money.
In one of the incidents, a complainant identified as Innocent Mukomborero was offered a job as a casual worker after paying $150.
Three months later, Nyarufaro allegedly called Mukomborero on his mobile phone and ordered him to pay an additional $50 to get a permanent contract. After paying the money, Mukomborero was allegedly upgraded to a permanent employee.
Using the same modus operandi, the suspects fleeced nine other desperate job seekers, with some securing employment while others failed. The matter came to light after police detectives received a tip-off about the alleged shenanigans at the bakery before launching investigations that led to the suspects’ arrest.