Legendary News Anchor, Oscar Pambuka
By Dickson Bandera
In a shocking case of twist of fate, former ZBC news anchor Oscar Pambuka was yesterday sentenced to 6 years in prison for fraud.
He will effectively serve 2 years 6 months after part of the sentence was conditionally suspended.
The firebrand broadcaster is currently facing two separate cases of fraud, one involving Zimbabwe Power Company committed between 2016 and 2018, while the other one involving Croco Motors was committed in November 2022. Below are the details of the two cases;
The November 2022 Case
Pambuka and his two accomplices Elmore Mwenye and Ngonidzashe Mbauya were arrainged before Mbare Magistrates Court facing fraud charges in Januaray 2023. It is the State’s case that sometime in November 2022, Oscar Pambuka hatched a plan to defraud one Gibson Mazhangara, a transporter, of R36000 in a fake spare parts shipment deal.
He then phoned the complainant, identifying himself as Mr Chingwena of Croco Motors and asked Mazhangara to deposit money into a South African bank account to pay for shipment of the motor spare parts from South Africa.
But before Mazhangara deposited the money, he checked with Croco Motors who indicated they did not have any container in South Africa. He reported the matter to the police leading to Pambuka’s arrest.
Pambuka was convicted after a full trial and was remanded in custody awaiting sentence.
The ZPC case [2016-2018]
Pambuka’s appearance at the Mbare Magistrate Courts for the Croco Motors case proved a double blow as it activated his previous pending Zimbabwe Power Company Fraud case where he, together with former Highfield Member of Parliament Psychology Maziwisa were convicted and given a custodial sentence but did not serve as they applied for bail pending appeal.
The two, who fronted a media consultancy company, Fruitful Communications and connected to then Minister of Energy, Samuel Undenge were arrested after defrauding the Zimbabwe Power Company of over $12 000 in a controversial public relations deal. They were accused of having received money but never carried out the work they were paid for.
Their efforts to overturn the ruling after the 2018 conviction hit a snag as their High Court appeal was struck off the roll in September 2022, therefore the two were supposed to hand themselves over for imprisonment. However, they did not.
With Pambuka now convicted for a second fraud case before serving the first one, the courts immediately activated his warrant of arrest, leading to him being taken to the High Court for his committal to prison.
Former Energy Minister Samuel Udenge who awarded the tender to Pambuka and Maziwisa was slapped with a 4 year jail sentence in 2020 after being convicted in 2018 but was later released from prison under presidential pardon.
Undenge’s charges arose from a January 14, 2016 letter in which he allegedly directed the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) to work hand in glove with a local consultancy company, Fruitful Communications fronted by Oscar Pambuka and Psychology Maziwisa.
This was meant to be a six-month engagement in publicity work relating to the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZIMASSET) programmes until 2018.
The letter read: “I write to inform you that Fruitful Communications is a media company that is working towards the dissemination of information on all ZimAsset based projects. They have done publicity work for the ministry of Energy and Power Development by putting me, as the principal voice, at the forefront of explaining our vision as well as the different interventions that are current“I have found them to be incredibly useful in this regard and hereby direct that you work as closely as possible with them at intervals of six (6) months per engagement until 2018”.
However, the handpicking of the company without going to tender was faulty at law hence the legal action.
Pambuka and Maziwisa were initially convicted of two counts of fraud and each sentenced to six years and five months in prison.
In the latest sentence pronounced, High Court Harare ruled that the duo will only serve two years and six months each after the rest of the term was conditionally suspended.
Pambuka will therefore serve two sentences, one for the ZPC case which has already been pronounced plus one for the Croco motors spare parts deal, which is still pending.
Veteran broadcaster, Eric Night said he was saddened by Pambuka’s imprisonment. Posting on social media, Eric Night said, “Hello Zimbabwe! I am saddened by the imprisonment of Broadcaster Oscar Pambuka. I don’t condone crime at any level but it’s really a sorry fate. This is really sad for what I rate as one of the best broadcasters in Zim.”
