HARARE Magistrate Rebecca Ushamba last week acquitted Glen Norah High 1 headmaster Edgar Oliver Murisa charged with embezzlement of School Development Association funds (SDA) amounting to $2,000.
At the close of the state case Ushamba found Murisa, 52, not guilty of misappropriating school funds and the criminal abuse of public office.
Murisa was hauled before the courts after an April audit by the SDA “unearthed irregularities in the schools financial records”.
However, Ushamba concluded that the evidence availed in court failed to incriminate Murisa and his co-accused, the school’s SDA treasurer, Jacob Maposa, 45.
The court pointed out that the whole case seemed motivated by the acrimonious relationship which existed between the school head and some of the SDA committee members.
“There seems to be bad blood and this, to me, points to why we are sitting here,” said the magistrate.
“Their evidence did not help the state’s case and do not convince the court that the two accused persons had overstepped or acted out of required set procedures within the school’s set standard.
According to prosecutor Desire Chidanire, the pair made cash withdrawals from the school’s CBZ bank account in the sum of $5,114 meant for servicing the school’s creditors’ accounts and to carter for other activities at the government school.
Murisa and Maphosa were accused of having allegedly abused a surplus of $2,227 because the money was never deposited into the school’s account.
SDA chairman, Kingston Mutambiwa “exposed” the two after an audit had been instituted.
A stormy meeting last month to elect a new SDA committee almost turned rowdy but retained Mutambiwa as head of the school committee.