THE woman, who was in the eye of a storm triggered by an irregular promotion, which saw her being elevated into a ghost executive position at the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC), has RESIGNED.
Rutendo Mangatu’s resignation, last Thursday, caps a dramatic few days at the company which also saw chief executive, Mark Mabhudhu, being dismissed from his job at the end of last month.
The IT expert hogged headlines recently when it was revealed that she had not only been promoted, to a post which did not exist within the company’s structures, but had even shifted base to work from the office of the CEO.
On March 1, last year, she was promoted to the post of Information Knowledge Analyst, reporting directly to Mabhudhu.
The position came with a host of incentives, including trips to Dubai, South Africa and Botswana, even though it was a ghost post because it didn’t exist within the company’s structures.
One such trip saw her being driven to Botswana in Mabhudhu’s official facility vehicle with the former CEO having flown to the neighbouring country for a meeting.
The decision to move her to work from the former CEO’s office, which had never happened at ZCDC before, fuelled speculation at the company that the duo was probably having a romantic workplace relationship.
However, they both dismissed the speculation with Mabhudhu telling H-Metro this was the work of those who were hounding him from his job and had orchestrated his suspension on flimsy grounds.
Mabhudhu has now been dismissed in the latest chapter of a romance with the ZCDC which has always ended in an acrimonious divorce.
Mark Mabhudhu
That was the case in 2016 only for him to bounce back as the CEO.
Just like Mabhudhu, Mangatu was also on suspension, pending a disciplinary hearing set for this week.
She was facing charges of allegedly leaking official company documents in an industry which is very sensitive.
However, before she could present herself at the hearing, she decided to quit the firm.
“Mangatu resigned last Thursday,” sources told H-Metro.
“She was on suspension pending her appearance before a disciplinary hearing for allegedly leaking official company documents.
“These are serious allegations and the initial indication was that she was going to defend herself.
“However, it appears everything changed when the CEO was dismissed and she sent in her own resignation notice.
“She is said to have fallen into panic mode when it was revealed that the CEO had been dismissed.”
It brings the curtain down on what has been an eventful few months for Mangatu and Mabhudhu at the country’s leading diamond firm.
One of the issues, which are still outstanding, relates to the whereabouts of the furniture, which was removed from the CEO’s office, after the firm acquired a new set.
“There is suspicion here that the furniture was taken to Mangatu’s house, but the investigations are continuing and we will get to know the full facts soon.”
Mangatu joined ZCDC in February 2018, on a casual contract, as an ICT Assistant (Grade B3) prior to the coming in of Mabhudhu as CEO.
However, in the last few years, she experienced a meteoric rise within the company’s structures and even ended up being promoted to a ghost position.
Prior to her promotion she had told the company that she was being pursued by NMB Bank and had received a lucrative offer from the financial institution.
This forced ZCDC to improve her package and give her a promotion even though attempts by the Human Resources department to secure the so-called offer from NMB Bank, for their records and audit justification for the promotion, didn’t yield anything.
Mangatu went on leave, on the very day Mabhudhu was suspended and took more days, when the initial period expired claiming she wasn’t feeling well.
In a way, it also solved a crisis given the remaining executives didn’t know where to pitch her, to conduct her business, in the event she returned, because her stuff, was locked in the CEO’s office.
The office was locked on the day Mabhudhu was suspended.
Eventually, Mangatu returned to work and was given a new place to work from until her suspension and resignation.
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