Mpilo exec pays $45 000 for bag

By Emily Mbewe

BULAWAYO – A Mpilo Central Hospital executive paid a fraudster $45,000 in a bid to recover a stolen laptop, flash disks and office keys, the Bulawayo Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday.

The trial of Brett Sibanda, 23, of Pumula South, will cast a new light on the Mpilo bribes-for-tenders scandal.

The theft of keys to the offices of senior Mpilo executives from a car driven by the hospital’s Clinical Director, Solwayo Ngwenya, was thought at the time last month to be the work of officials fingered in the tender scandal to cover their tracks by stealing incriminating documents.

Prosecutors yesterday said they still did not know who broke into Ngwenya’s car, but they accused Sibanda of swindling Ngwenya of close to $45,000 after claiming he could recover his lost property.

Sibanda – the managing director of a local NGO, Umuzi Wabancane – allegedly told Ngwenya that agents from the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) were behind the theft of the items which were contained in a bag.

On April 21 this year, just hours after Mpilo’s board suspended four top executives – chief executive officer Lawrence Mantiziba, operations director Duduza Regina Moyo, finance director Charles Govo and central buying unit chairperson Mxolisi Sibanda – over the tender scandal, Ngwenya parked his Mazda CX7 at Spar Supermarket along Fife Street and12th Avenue.

Dumisani Ndlovu, prosecuting, said the car’s locking mechanism was compromised and a bag containing hospital keys, flash disks and a laptop was stolen.

A day later, Sibanda allegedly told Ngwenya that CIO operatives had his bag and were demanding cash to release it.

“Sibanda approached Ngwenya through a relative and indicated that he was in a position to offer him private security and he agreed,” said Ndlovu.

The court heard that Sibanda proceeded to Ngwenya’s house, where he told him that the CIO agents wanted $4,500 to release the bag.

“He told Ngwenya that his life was in danger if he did not comply with the CIOs’ requests,” said Ndlovu.

Ngwenya, the court heard, gave Sibanda the $4,500 which he later converted to his own use.

Later on the same day, said the prosecutor, Sibanda went on to demand $5,200 stating that the CIOs wanted more money and used the same threats as before.

Ngwenya gave him the money.

The court heard that on April 25, Sibanda used the same tactic to deprive Ngwenya of $15,000 before telling him his family’s life was in danger.

“The next day, Sibanda approached Ngwenya and told him that the money he had given the CIOs was not enough as they wanted $20,000 before being given $10,000 that he converted to his own use,” said Ndlovu.

Ndlovu told the court that a week later, Sibanda went back to Ngwenya and demanded the balance of $10,000 from the $20,000 that was previously demanded.

The court heard that Ngwenya gave Sibanda $9,000.

Ndlovu told the court that Sibanda would later demand a further $50,000, but a fed-up Ngwenya called in the police.

Sibanda is facing five counts of extortion. The total amount of prejudice was $43,700, according to prosecutors.

Sibanda was not asked to plead when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Sibongile Msipa Marondedze and was remanded in custody to June 2.

The Chronicle reported the story of the stolen keys last month. It was suspected that the thieves were after audit files that were thought to be locked in the suspended executives’ offices.

The hospital quickly moved to change locks as soon as the theft was reported, rendering the keys stolen from Ngwenya’s car useless. Essentially, that means Ngwenya values the other items in his missing bag as much as $45,000.

An initial audit at Mpilo revealed that the hospital could be losing millions of dollars through tender scams. The Chronicle