Source: Church caught up in City Hall bookings fraud | The Sunday News
Bulawayo City Hall Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Check Point Desk
THE Bulawayo City Council (BCC) has set legal action in motion against Spirit Embassy Ministries over a fraudulent hall booking scheme that saw the church using duplicate receipts on multiple occasions, swindling the local authority of more than US$2 000 over a two-year period.
The scheme, allegedly masterminded in collusion with council clerical officer Mr Busani Nyoni — who has since gone into hiding — allowed the ministry to hold church services at the Large City Hall without paying the required fees but using the same receipts multiple times.
A damning report by the city’s internal audit department reveals that Spirit Embassy Ministries, represented by Mr Somerai Charamba exploited weak internal controls and used four receipts on at least five different occasions between 2024 and early 2025, resulting in actual prejudice of US$2 072.05. A backward audit of 2023 bookings exposed further inconsistencies at both the Large and Small City Halls.
Mr Charamba admitted to auditors that although he was familiar with the official booking process, he had established a “working relationship” with Mr Nyoni, who would handle the bookings informally in exchange for undisclosed US dollar cash payments.
Bulawayo City Council
One receipt — 0151638434 — was issued on 21 June 2024 at 2.22 PM for a legitimate payment of US$415. However, the same receipt was used again just two days later on 23 June, this time without verification or a corresponding entry in the official register. This same receipt was recorded by security officer Mr Maickel Ndlovu with details of the organisation, its representative, and his contact information. The booking, curiously, was written in pencil — an immediate red flag for auditors.
Even more troubling, the receipt resurfaced once again on 14 July 2024 for another church service, giving Spirit Embassy access to the hall twice without making any further payments.
A similar pattern emerged with receipt 0141590226, initially issued for a service on 21 July 2024. No booking record was ever created for that date, yet the same receipt reappeared on 4 August, this time logged by a security officer and written in black ink by Mr Nyoni — again, with no additional payment.
“Audit found that on 19 July 2024 at 2:28 PM, Spirit Embassy Ministries paid US$414.41 for City Hall hire on 21 July 2024 and was issued receipt 0141590226. The investigation established that the receipt was recorded on CS Form 573 for usage from 10 AM to 3 PM,” reads the report.
In one glaring case, receipt 0250617873 was used three times — once legitimately, and twice fraudulently — on 18, 20 and 27 October 2024. Another, 0161397995 was reused in January 2025, with only the first instance being recorded as a valid transaction.
Auditors invited Mr Charamba for clarification. He reportedly admitted to reusing the receipts, claiming he was unaware of the fraudulent nature of the transactions. He alleged that Mr Nyoni assured him that the receipts could be used again if he handled payments in local currency while offering the council officer US dollars in return.
Mr Charamba also expressed willingness to reimburse the council for the unpaid bookings.
The audit’s deep dive into 2023 records found that Spirit Embassy Ministries made 25 bookings according to the register, but only six corresponding payments were recorded.
While the church made six bulk payments totalling ZWL7,4 million, the actual fees should have been just ZWL 3.9 million, raising concerns of possible money laundering or systemic failures within council financial processes.
“The discrepancy between the amount paid and the actual fees due raises suspicions of possible money laundering — unless the irregularities are the result of system failures related to exchange rate fluctuations and changes in monetary policy,” the report concludes.
Chairperson of the BCC audit committee, Councillor Aleck Ndlovu, confirmed the findings and said legal proceedings were now in motion.
“What we established was that Mr Charamba, representing Spirit Embassy Ministries was using the same receipt several times to book and use the City hall. As a result of that, council is now suing the church,” he said.
Efforts to get a detailed comment from Mr Charamba were unsuccessful as he said he was “not in a position to respond” citing other commitments.
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