Bulawayo assessor Ceaser Nkomo was jailed for five years for bribery

A fake promise to revive a stalled court case just landed a Bulawayo High Court assessor behind bars for a solid five effective years.

Ceaser Nkomo's bribery conviction

• Ceaser Nkomo, 64, squeezed US$1,974 out of a complainant via EcoCash payments.
• His scheme involved pretending to upload the victim's case onto the JSC system.
• Nkomo kept lying about being at the Gweru Circuit Court with a judge.
• Magistrate Sibonginkosi Maphosa convicted him despite a not-guilty plea.

Sentencing and criminal history

• Eight years got handed down, but three were suspended conditionally.
• Restitution to the complainant is due by 30 June, or that extra year kicks in.
• Nkomo already had a 2016 theft conviction on his record.
• Prosecutor Owen Mugari called bribery a societal cancer, demanding jail time.

How the scam fell apart

• Shingirai Mpungu, 30, posed as the High Court Registrar alongside Nkomo.
• Money flowed through EcoCash transfers and at least one direct payment.
• Everything unraveled when the complainant figured out that Mpungu never worked there.
• Police got involved after the victim reported the whole setup.