The trial of business partners Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe, who are facing fraud charges involving US$7 million in the failed Presidential Goat Pass-On Scheme, was unable to resume on Monday due to a family emergency.
According to NewZimbabwe.com, Advocate Tapson Dzvetero, one of the lawyers, lost his brother-in-law the night before.
High Court judge Justice Pisirayi Kwenda was informed of the situation, and Chipeta, standing in for Dzvetero, conveyed the news. Said Chipeta:
Mr Dzvetero is attending the funeral of his brother-in-law who was electrocuted at the Support Unit last night.
Burial is expected on Wednesday or Thursday and my principal, Mr Dzvetero will not be available…but I received instructions that he might be available on the 19th /20th of February going forward.
The trial of Mpofu and Chimombe, charged with fraud involving US$7 million in the failed Presidential Goat Pass-On Scheme, has been postponed to February 20, where it will continue for five days.
The State is set to call three witnesses on the first day, with Titus Mbambi, Fungai Kapfunde, and Beverly Mutsikamahwe expected to testify.
The trial, originally slated to begin in October last year, was delayed following an application by the duo to refer the matter to the Constitutional Court.
However, the application was dismissed for lack of merit, allowing the trial to move forward.
Mpofu and Chimombe, who are currently in custody, had their bail application denied last month after the court determined they were likely to abscond, given the potential 20-year jail term they face if convicted.
The charges stem from their alleged involvement in forging documents to secure a tender to supply goats under the Presidential Goat Scheme.