Simbarashe Emmanuel Martin Rondozai, a former corporate security and accounts manager, has been sentenced to an effective 42 months in prison after being convicted of kidnapping his former workmate, David Matanda, in a case linked to allegations of financial misconduct.
Harare Provincial Magistrate Tapiwa Kuhudzai initially imposed a 48-month sentence on Rondozai. Six months were suspended on condition of good behaviour, leaving him with 42 months to serve. The court took into account the impact of the abduction on Matanda, who fled Zimbabwe for several months after the attack because he feared for his life.
The conviction brings an end to one part of a case that began at a home in Zengeza 5, Chitungwiza, in May 2025. Prosecutors said Rondozai and four accomplices, who remain at large, posed as police officers before forcing their way into the incident and taking Matanda away in a silver Honda Fit.
The prosecution’s case was that the kidnapping was intended to stop Matanda from exposing suspected financial misconduct at Real Star Security, where the two men had previously worked. Matanda was described in court as a former colleague who had information about the alleged misappropriation of funds.
Catherine Satande, Matanda’s wife, told the Harare Magistrates’ Court that the ordeal began when her husband’s brother, Rufaro, responded to a knock at the family’s door. Two men were outside and claimed to be police officers. They demanded to see Matanda, who then went outside.
Satande said she saw her husband being held by his belt. She returned briefly to the house to get her phone and tried to call her aunt for help, but the call did not connect.
“I went back into the house to take my phone and I tried calling my aunt to let her know what was taking place but the call didn’t go through,” she said.
When she went outside again, Satande said, Matanda was being assaulted. The men pushed him into the vehicle while she asked where they were taking him.
“l went outside again and I saw the people assaulting him. They pushed my husband into a silver Honda Fit and I asked them where they were taking him to and they said they would advise me.”
Satande described one of the men as slim. She said she was too frightened to move close to the vehicle and could not see everyone inside it. Matanda later told her that one of the people involved was a work colleague.
The court heard that Matanda returned home at about 4am, bruised and battered. He then went to his sister’s house in Concession, Mashonaland Central Province, where he stayed for a week before leaving the country.
Matanda travelled to South Africa and did not return to Zimbabwe until December 16, 2025. He eventually made a police report on February 19, 2026. He had first approached senior managers at Real Star Security on February 12, according to evidence presented during the trial, and was advised to make a formal report to the police.
Matanda told the court that he delayed reporting the kidnapping because he feared that the people who had taken him would target him again. He also said he was able to identify Rondozai before he was blindfolded because the two men had worked together for a long time.
The State alleged that Matanda was handcuffed and blindfolded before being forced into the Honda Fit. He was allegedly held for about eight hours and warned not to implicate Rondozai in the financial misconduct involving Real Star Security. The suspects later allegedly abandoned him near a bridge along New Chitungwiza Road.
The kidnapping case is separate from another criminal matter involving Rondozai’s former employer, Wellcash Debt Collectors. In that case, Rondozai is accused of theft of trust property after allegedly converting US$10,811 recovered from debtors on behalf of the company’s clients.
The alleged theft took place between March and December 2024, when Rondozai worked as an accounts manager. His duties included collecting money from debtors and depositing it into Wellcash’s ZB Bank trust account. The money was then meant to be transferred to creditors who had hired the company to recover outstanding debts.
Prosecutors say the money was not deposited into the trust account and was instead used for Rondozai’s personal benefit. The funds have not been recovered.
The allegations include several payments handed to Rondozai for banking. Matanda is said to have withdrawn US$8,811 from EcoCash and handed the cash to Rondozai. He later received US$400 from a debtor through Mukuru and allegedly passed that money to the former accounts manager as well.
Matanda is also alleged to have handed Rondozai another US$400 received from a debtor identified as Chicken Launch, together with US$300 received from another debtor known as Chaluwa. Each payment was allegedly intended for deposit into the company’s account.
A second debt collector, Lancelot Muswere, allegedly told Rondozai that he had collected US$300 from a debtor. Rondozai is accused of instructing Muswere to transfer the money through EcoCash to a number registered in the name of his mother, Mercy Rondozai. The prosecution says the money was not deposited into Wellcash’s trust account.
Rondozai’s alleged links to both cases placed the former manager at the centre of a dispute involving company money, a former colleague and an alleged effort to prevent information about suspected fraud from reaching the authorities. The kidnapping conviction also left Matanda separated from his home and work for months, while his family dealt with the consequences of his sudden departure.
The financial case was further remanded to September 10, 2026. The kidnapping proceedings had been scheduled for continuation on September 19, 2026, before the sentence was handed down.
The case comes as Zimbabwe moves towards a new framework for protecting whistle-blowers and witnesses. The Whistle-Blowers and Witness Protection Bill, 2026, has been prepared to establish procedures for people who disclose information about conduct harmful to the public interest and for witnesses who may face threats or harm. The proposed law is being considered while cases such as Matanda’s continue to draw attention to the risks faced by employees who report suspected wrongdoing.
For Matanda’s family, the events began with a knock at the door and men claiming to be police officers. They ended with a night-time return, an escape across the border and a long wait before the matter reached the courts. Rondozai’s conviction has now resulted in a prison term, while the separate allegations concerning the missing Wellcash funds remain before the courts.