Story by Fungai Jachi
A shift manager at a local bakery firm who stole money before gambling it away has been slapped with a two-and-a-half-year jail term after his conviction for theft.
A bad start to a New Year and a flopped attempt to impress his new bride is the story of 28-year-old William Gonese, a shift manager at Baker’s Inn who will serve an effective 10-month prison term for stealing US$3 420 to fund online betting.
Gonese was convicted after pleading guilty to the charge of theft, telling the court he wanted to raise money to impress his new wife.
He was initially sentenced to 30 months imprisonment before 12 months were suspended on condition of good behaviour, while another 10 months were suspended on condition he pay back his employer the stolen money.
Gonese stole US$3 420 from his workplace in a single night shift to fund online betting on a platform called Aviator, hoping that by the end of the shift, he would have won enough to repay the money, and also have enough profit to impress his new wife.
The facts are that Gonese was entrusted with a float of US$3 420 to serve customers at a Bakers Inn outlet on Chinhoyi Street in Harare.
However, by the next day at around 3 am, Gonese called Simbisa Bakers Inn Audit Manager Mr Yusuf Bruce and confessed that he had lost US$470 in cash and US$2 950 in InnBucks deposits through online betting.
Upon receiving Gonese’s call, Mr Bruce conducted a reconciliation at the shop, which confirmed the full amount of US$3 420 had been misappropriated.
