Corruption Trial For Chimombe And Mpofu Postponed To October 22
The trial of Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu, who have been in custody for over two months on corruption charges exceeding US$7 million, has been postponed to October 22 of this year.
The duo appeared relaxed and seemingly in good spirits during their appearance in the High Court in Harare on Thursday, where the proceedings were broadcast live on ZTN.
Chimombe and Mpofu are accused of misappropriating a total of US$7.7 million from the Presidential Goat Pass-On Scheme.
Allegations include forging a Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) tax clearance certificate and a National Social Security Authority (NSSA) compliance certificate under the name of Blackdeck Private Limited.
These documents were submitted with a bidding proposal to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries, and Rural Development for a tender to supply goats for the scheme.
By doing so, they misrepresented their company as being in full compliance with ZIMRA and NSSA regulations.
Their trial was postponed after their lawyers requested a referral to the Constitutional Court. Both defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
When Chimombe and Mpofu appeared at the Harare High Court the previous day (Wednesday), their lawyers traded barbs with Justice Pisirayi Kwenda.
Defence lawyers raised concerns about the court’s composition, specifically the age of the assessors, and argued that these issues should have been addressed before the trial began.
The defence claimed there were constitutional matters stemming from the duo’s arrest that needed to be resolved by the Constitutional Court before trial.
However, the prosecution argued that they should have been notified of the new defence outline regarding constitutional issues.
Tapson Dzvetero, representing Mpofu, began reading the defence outline, asserting that Mpofu pleaded not guilty and will challenge the legality of his detention and prosecution.
The defence contended that the charges stemmed from a civil matter related to a contractual disagreement with the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture, rather than criminal fraud.
Mpofu’s lawyer argued that he did not misrepresent the company’s capacity to supply goats and argued that the charges were unwarranted since the ministry had not pursued recovery of any funds.
The defence suggested that external parties with ulterior motives were influencing the prosecution, particularly in light of social media posts.
Professor Lovemore Madhuku told the court that Chimombe shares similar constitutional concerns and argued against the trial proceeding under what they deemed an improper court composition.
Chimombe’s lawyer explained that he was not directly involved in Blackdeck’s operations and only sought to mediate between the company and the ministry after disputes arose.
Both accused claimed that their legal troubles intensified after audios suggesting bribery by Wicknell Chivayo led to their arrest, alleging that they were targeted as punishment for leaking information.
More: Pindula News
