Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe will spend their second consecutive weekend in remand prison after the presiding magistrate, Marewanazvo Gofa, failed to appear due to illness, reported NewZimbabwe.com.
The two men have been languishing in remand prison following their arrest last week for the alleged misappropriation of US$7 million from the Presidential Goat Scheme funds.
Their bail hearing has been postponed for the second time this week because Magistrate Gofa is unwell.
The hearing has been rescheduled for Monday, with the hope that Gofa will have recovered by then.
During the previous court proceedings, the second investigating officer in the case, Henry Chapwanya, was on the witness stand.
Chapwanya opposed the defendants’ bail, arguing that Mpofu and Chimombe had provided false addresses, making them flight risks.
He also said that the two individuals held valid Chinese visas and had the financial means to sustain themselves in foreign countries.
Chimombe and Mpofu’s arrest came after they accused ZANU PF donor and President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s associate Wicknell Chivayo of fraudulently changing their contract with South African company Ren-Form and Better Brands to supply voting material to ZEC in the run-up to the 2023 general elections.
They are also suspected of leaking Wicknell Chivayo’s voice notes. In these recordings, Chivayo appeared to implicate several high-ranking government officials in an alleged fraudulent scheme related to the US$40 million ZEC tender.
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