HARARE – A Zaka couple has been sentenced to six months in prison after it was convicted for faking a daughter’s death with the intention of defrauding funeral insurer, Ecosure.
A Masvingo magistrate sentenced the couple to 6 months imprisonment of which three months were suspended.
The remainder were suspended on condition they performed 105 hours of community service.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority, Rungamirai Machinjike, 27 and husband Talent Rutindingwe, 33, both from Chief Nhema’s area in Zaka were sentenced after a full trial.
Facts are that Machinjike registered for Ecosure funeral cover and added the Rutindingwe, her daughter and her cousin as dependents.
It is the State’s case that during the period extending from November 2023 to December 2023, Machinjike misrepresented to Ecosure that the couple’s daughter had passed on in November 2023.
In an effort to substantiate their claim, she fraudulently obtained a death confirmation letter from her headman and identity documents of her witnesses which she gave to her husband to go and process the claim.
Rutindingwe went on to complete claim forms and attached the fraudulent documents.
He signed on behalf of the witnesses.
The matter came to light when Ecosure instituted preliminary investigations to verify the authenticity of the claim and established that the duo had made a false claim.
A Police report was made leading to their arrest.
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