Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Three airtime vendors, who are related, appeared before a Mutare magistrate on Friday after allegedly stealing US$54,863 through an EcoCash airtime transfer scam.
Marvelous Nyamutamba (41), Mitchelle Nyamutamba (28), and Panashe Muhonde (29) are accused of exploiting a system glitch that allowed them to transfer airtime without any deductions from their own accounts. Instead, each transfer credited the intended recipient, effectively duplicating the funds.
According to State prosecutor Chris Manyuku, the alleged theft occurred between January and April 2025, after Marvelous Nyamutamba discovered the flaw and shared it with the others. The money was reportedly stolen from Econet Wireless (Pvt) Ltd.
The trio has been charged with theft under Section 113(1) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (Chapter 9:23). Said Manyuku:
During these periods, the three accused made different transactions in the form of airtime, which resulted in Econet Wireless (Pvt) Ltd Zimbabwe losing US$54 863.
Marvelous Nyamutamba used her line to transact 312 ecocash airtime transactions amounting to US$39 595, while Mitchelle Nyamutamba used her line to transact 260 airtime purchases totaling US$14 282. Muhonde used his line to transact US$986 worth of airtime.
The alleged fraud came to light during a routine review of airtime purchases on the EcoCash platform. The discovery led to the blocking of the suspect’s line and a police report, resulting in the trio’s arrest.
They were held in remand prison over the weekend and granted US$150 bail each on Wednesday last week.
As part of their bail conditions, they must reside at their given addresses and avoid any contact with witnesses.
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