Zimbabwe: Sexual Harassment, Voucher Fraud Rock Simbisa Brands

Fast-food company Simbisa Brands has been rocked by reports of sexual harassment levelled against senior officials, who have been accused of abusing their company privileges to solicit romantic favours from junior workers.

In a recent leaked report seen by NewZimbabwe.com, several senior Simbisa Brands officials in Gweru were accused of sexual harassment by staff members.

Gweru operations manager Bekezela Sibanda was named by Simbisa staff members in sexual harassment allegations, accused of making romantic advances towards workers (names withheld).

In a statement by one worker, Sibanda was accused of making comments about sensitive body parts of junior staff members, which bordered on sexual harassment.

According to the leak, Sibanda was accused of forcing himself on a female staff member in his office on numerous occasions, sparking discontent among workers.

"There is one female staff member who alleged in her report that Bekezela had... forcefully grabbed me into his arms and tried to kiss me in his office, not only once...", read the report.

Sibanda was also alleged to have solicited sexual favours from female workers seeking transfers or promotions within the company.

The leaked internal document also revealed that Simbisa Brands had established Sibanda's misuse of meal vouchers, abusing his authority.

"There are some meals with Bekezela's name that were written on meal voucher books for previous months which would have expired. For example, use of October 2024 voucher book in April 2025.

"There are some meal vouchers that were submitted without any dates of when the meal was redeemed or any signatures of Bekezela," read the report.

The internal investigations also disclosed another official Mthulisi Moyo, Chicken Inn Franchise area manager, who was alleged to be involved in a relationship triangle with two managers.

According to Simbisa Brands' policy on sexual conduct at workplace, Sibanda was reportedly dismissed after being found guilty of violating the company's regulations.

Efforts to get a comment from Sibanda were futile as he had not responded to written questions sent to him by the time of publishing.

Read the original article on New Zimbabwe.