Prosecutor Yeukai Mugumba said Tracy Chawasarira submitted application forms for a passport to the Gweru offices. On October 19, Livingstone Maphosa, a clerk at the offices, phoned Chawasarira advising her that the date of birth on the application form was different from her national identification copy. He indicated to Chawasarira that it was impossible to rectify the discrepancy unless she sent him a “monetary gift”. Chawasarira then sent $11 to Maphosa through his econet ecocash account on October 20.
Magistrate, Pathekile Msipa, sentenced Maphosa to 12 months in prison for the offence but suspended four months for five years on condition of good behavior. The matter comes at a time when another official from the same offices was also slapped with a jail term for receiving a bribe from a citizen living abroad.