Maid Jailed for Plotting US$80k Safe Theft from Employer

A 59-year-old domestic worker in Harare has been jailed for three years after a court found she masterminded the theft of more than US$80,000 from her employer’s home. Sarah Matemarunda was sentenced to 36 months in prison by the Harare Magistrates’ Court after being convicted of organising the theft, according to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe. Prosecutors said the offence occurred on 10 August 2025 when the homeowner left for his farm in Darwendale leaving Matemarunda and a gardener, Milton Mudimu, at the property.

While the employer was away, Matemarunda allegedly contacted him claiming that the gardener had failed to report for work. But when the victim returned home on 12 August, he found the bedroom doors open and a digital metal safe missing from the wall. Authorities said the safe contained large sums of cash in different currencies.

According to prosecutors, the money included US$80 400, ZAR4 000, 300 Chinese yuan, 200 UAE dirhams, 100 Indian rupees and £30. Police later discovered the safe inside a parked vehicle at the house, where investigators identified fingerprints. Further inquiries led to the arrest of the gardener, Mudimu, who was intercepted while allegedly trying to flee to South Africa.