Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. By Mary Taruvinga – FORMER Registrar General (RG) Tobaiwa Mudede was Thursday dragged to court to answer to charges of stealing farming equipment and kitchen utensils worth US$10 000 in 2007 after boasting to the complainant he was “untouchable”.
He appeared before Harare Magistrate Dennis Mangosi for stealing property belonging to one Jacqueline Mukanganyama.
Prosecutors told the court that before stealing Mukanganyama’s property, Mudede had told her that as the RG, he was “untouchable”.
He was not asked to plead and was remanded on free bail. The value of the stolen property was US$10 000 and nothing was recovered.
Mudede has another lawsuit against him before the High Court where Mukanganyama also accuses him of illegally grabbing her land in the rich farming area of Mazowe district.
According to court papers, in 2002, Mukanganyama was allocated Plot Number 10 at Ballineety Farm. She was also appointed caretaker of the homestead and the surrounding state land.
She started farming and bought irrigation equipment including aluminum pipes, a Mono pump 20 Horse Power, and a DIX submersible pump.
In 2007, Mudede was offered subdivisions at the farm measuring 712 hectares.
On arrival at the farm, Mudede had a heated argument with neighbouring farmers over land boundaries.
He went on to forcibly occupy the farmhouse, which was at the boundary of Mukanganyama’s farm and the state land, which were all under her care.
According to High Court papers; “The accused evicted the complainant and took irrigation equipment at the farm and plates saying he was the RG and nothing could be done to him.”
Mukanganyama later confronted Mudede who engaged the services of one Inspector Mwenye, who was the officer-in-charge at Rhodesville police station in Harare.
Accompanied by police officers from the Support Unit, Mwenye travelled to the Mazowe farm to intimidate and assault Mukanganyama and her employees.
One of Zimbabwe’s longest-serving bureaucrats, Mudede was retired in September 2018 by President Emmerson Mnangagwa as he moved to get rid of several senior government officials from the late former President Robert Mugabe’s administration.
