![Tinomudashe Samuel Chitonga was granted R20 000 bail. [Image: Hawks]](https://i0.wp.com/hararelive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Tinomudashe-Samuel-Chitonga-was-granted-R20-000-bail-Picture-Hawks-1280px-t.jpeg?resize=780%2C470&ssl=1)
A Zimbabwean hotel manager is facing serious charges after allegedly defrauding a Cape Town hotel of over R1.1 million. Tinomudashe Samuel Chitonga, the former general manager of the Boutique Hotel in Camps Bay, is now facing a slew of charges, including fraud, cyber fraud, cyber forgery, uttering, and theft.
Chitonga was apprehended on Tuesday by the Cape Town Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team. Between August 2021 and February 2023, the hotel manager is accused of accessing various online bookings and changing the banking details to his personal bank account.
According to Zinzi Hani, the spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), the former hotel manager used the hotel’s account to defraud the business by laundering the stolen money into his personal account. The Hawks’ investigation revealed that Chitonga is accused of stealing a whopping R1.1 million!
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In a media statement, Hani said,
“Chitonga was arrested after he allegedly defrauded the hotel of more than R1.1 million.
“It is reported that between August 2021 and February 2023, the accused accessed various online bookings and changed the banking details to his personal bank account.”
Chitonga has since been released on R20 000 bail after appearing in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. The case has been postponed until May 19, 2023.
This shocking crime committed by a trusted hotel manager has left the Boutique Hotel in Camps Bay reeling.
The accused is facing multiple charges that could land him in jail for a long time. This case has sent shockwaves through the hotel industry, and hotel owners will now have to implement stricter measures to prevent fraud by their employees.
