Catch & Release: Chimombe and Mpofu Spend Night in Remand
The two are accused of misappropriating $88 million from the Presidential Goat Pass-on Scheme
Catch & Release: Chimombe and Mpofu Spend Night in Remand
Businessmen Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu have been placed in remand prison by Harare Regional Magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa. The two are accused of misappropriating $88 million from the “Presidential Goat Pass-on Scheme”.
Tenderpreneurs Chimombe and Mpofu Avail Themselves to ZACC
The duo was arrested on Wednesday morning and subsequently appeared in the Harare Magistrates Court to face fraud charges.
According to the NPA, the two businessmen forged a ZIMRA Tax Clearance certificate and NSSA compliance certificate under Blackdeck Private Limited and submitted them to the Ministry of Lands. This was all so that they would get a tender to supply goats for the Presidential Goat Pass-on scheme.
Investigations later revealed that the QR code and reference on the NSSA certificate belonged to a different company. The Ministry of Lands, acting on the misrepresentation, paid a total of ZWL 1.6 billion to the company in 2021. The accused persons misrepresented that they had delivered 32,500 goats while they only supplied 4 208. The rest of the money, worth over US$ 7 million, was used for personal use and never recovered.
Catch & Release: Chimombe and Mpofu Spend Night in Remand
Mpofu and Chimombe are set to spend the night in custody and will return to court on Thursday. The State, represented by Anesu Chirenje, requested that their bail hearing be scheduled for Thursday. Chirenje mentioned the need to confirm whether the accused had voluntarily appeared in court or were escorted by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).
The State expressed its intention to review documentary evidence before opposing the bail application for Mpofu and Chimombe. Chirenje also indicated that the State plans to present testimonies from two ZACC investigating officers.
Represented by their lawyers Tapson Dzvetero and Arshiel Mugiya, Mpofu and Chimombe opposed the delay in the bail ruling. They argued that, according to the law, they should be granted free bail as they were not apprehended but came from their homes.
It boggles mind why the goat scheme fraud case is now being prioritised over the ZEC procurement scandal.
