BULAWAYO – Sipho Mazibuko, the founder of the Miss Rural Zimbabwe pageant, claims she was swindled out of US$5,600 by a young man she had taken in and treated like a son.
The accused, 25-year-old Courage Ngwenya, is alleged to have stolen the money from Mazibuko’s safe before vanishing. He now faces two charges under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] — theft and fraudulent conversion of trust property.
In a now-viral Facebook post, Mazibuko detailed how she had grown close to Ngwenya over the past two years.
“I met him around two years ago when he approached me as a youth farmer and aspiring entrepreneur.
“He said he needed mentorship and shared a heart-breaking story about how his mother had disappeared because of an abusive, alcoholic father,” she wrote.
“I believed him. I treated him like a son.”
Mazibuko said she was drawn to Ngwenya’s apparent intelligence and ambition.
“I didn’t verify his qualifications. He claimed he had a degree in accounting from Lupane State University. I trusted him. I even made him a model for my Miss Rural Zimbabwe magazine.”
The betrayal came to light when she discovered her safe had been emptied one weekend. The shock caused a spike in her blood pressure, leading to her being rushed to Mater Dei Hospital. After recovering, she took it upon herself to aid in Ngwenya’s capture.
“I lured him into the safe room, locked it from the outside and called the police. He was arrested while pacing like a trapped mouse.”
Mazibuko said Ngwenya, who is now out on bail, had manipulated her kind nature.
“He even introduced me to his long-lost parents after claiming they had died years ago. That’s when I realised I was dealing with a professional con artist.”
She has since issued a warning to others not to let their generosity blind them.
“My daughter once told me, ‘Your heart is a refugee camp.’ She was right. Courage lived in that camp, plotted his heist, and then struck.”
