Former Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Petronella Kagonye were on Thursday, 9 June, sentenced to 16 months imprisonment by Harare magistrate Vongai Muchuchuti-Guwuriro.
The magistrate had convicted Kagonye the previous day for diverting into her own use, some 20 computers which were donated through her by the Postal and Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (POTRAZ).
The laptops were meant for schools in the ZANU PF politician’s Goromonzi South constituency in 2018.
Muchuchuti sentenced Kagonye to 36 months in jail. The magistrate, however, set aside 12 months for five years on condition of good behaviour.
A further eight months were set aside on condition she restitutes US$10 000 equivalent to the laptops she stole.
Allegations were that in June 2018, Kagonye wrote to then ICT Minister Supa Mandiwanzira requesting computers to donate to schools in her constituency.
On 20 June 2018, Mandiwanzira then wrote to POTRAZ requesting facilitation of the donations through its e-learning project to Goromonzi South schools.
POTRAZ donated the computers to Kagonye who sent her brother Evans Kagonye to collect them on her behalf.
However, when POTRAZ later made a follow-up on the donation, Kagonye could not account for the gadgets.