Bulawayo City Council plans to sue Spirit Embassy Ministries for cheating them out of more than $2,000. The church used the same receipts many times to book the Large City Hall without paying proper fees. They worked with a council worker named Busani Nyoni, who has disappeared. City auditors found that church representative Somerai Charamba used four receipts five different times between 2024 and 2025. Auditors also found problems with hall bookings from 2023.
Charamba told officials he knew the correct booking process but made a special deal with Nyoni instead. He gave Nyoni cash payments under the table. Two days later, one receipt for $415 from June 21, 2024, was reused without being checked or recorded properly. Security officer Maickel Ndlovu wrote down the church details but used a pencil, which made auditors suspicious. The church used this same receipt again on July 14 for free.
Another receipt from July 21, 2024 never had an official booking made. The church used it again on August 4, with Nyoni writing the details in black ink. No money was paid either time. The weak checking system in the halls let this fraud continue for years.
Charamba told officials he knew the correct booking process but made a special deal with Nyoni instead. He gave Nyoni cash payments under the table. Two days later, one receipt for $415 from June 21, 2024, was reused without being checked or recorded properly. Security officer Maickel Ndlovu wrote down the church details but used a pencil, which made auditors suspicious. The church used this same receipt again on July 14 for free.
Another receipt from July 21, 2024 never had an official booking made. The church used it again on August 4, with Nyoni writing the details in black ink. No money was paid either time. The weak checking system in the halls let this fraud continue for years.
