Zimbabwe International Film Festival Trust (ZIFFT) executive director Nakayi Zivayi Rose Matema was arrested in November last year after allegedly presenting a document with a forged signature of one of the signatories, Rachel Pfungwa Kupara, intending intending to withdraw $700 from the organization’s account reports Newsday Zimbabwe.
Prior to that Matema, had initially withdrew $2, 500 from the ZIFFT account in September last year after she had allegedly forged Kupara’s signature on a ZIFFT indemnity letter. Matema again allegedly attempted to withdraw $10,000 at the end of September but failed after an alert bank teller discovered that the second signatory signature purportedly by Kupara differed from the signature on file at bank.
In her defense, Matema pleaded not guilty to the fraud charge and raised a defense of necessity.