Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. ZANU PF central committee member and businessperson Mike Chimombe and his colleague Moses Mpofu, who are being accused of a US$7 million fraud in a botched government goat supply deal, have filed for an application for discharge at the close of the State’s case.
Chimombe and Mpofu being are accused of misrepresenting to the Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development ministry in tender documents that Blackdeck Livestock and Poultry Farming was a registered company in Zimbabwe with a valid Zimra tax clearance certificate and a valid Nssa compliance certificate.
The duo was expected to deliver 85 691 goats after being paid ZWL$1,6 billion (about US$7 712 197,10 equivalent), but supplied only 4 208 goats, prejudicing the government of US$7 380 751,85. Nothing was recovered.
The State led evidence from more than five witnesses and the defence led by Tapson Dzvetero and Ashiel Mugiya submitted that they failed to prove a case against the accused persons.
The defence submitted that there is no prima facie case established by the State against Chimombe that warrants placing him on his defence.
The lawyers submitted that there was no direct evidence linking Chimombe to the alleged offence, saying the evidence submitted so far was unreliable and that the court can discharge him without being harassed to conduct his defence.
“The accused has to establish that no evidence has been adduced by the State to prove the essential elements of the offence alleged against the accused, such that no court applying its mind to the State case can convict. Another test can be that the evidence so far from the State is manifestly unreliable.
At the close of the State case, it is submitted that none of the State witnesses managed to directly link Chimombe to the offence alleged against him.
“None of the State witnesses managed to adduce evidence to show that Chimombe was directly or indirectly involved in the preparation of Blackdeck’s bid documents.
“The State opened and closed its case without establishing how exactly Chimombe made the alleged misrepresentation to the ministry that the company was a registered company with a valid Zimra tax clearance certificate and a Nssa compliance certificate. Was the misrepresentation verbal or written? We do not know.”
Dzetero said the absence of evidence establishing the alleged misrepresentation by Chimombe, either before the submission of the bid document by Blackdeck or after the contract had been awarded by the ministry to the company, seemed to be common cause.
“There is simply no evidence to that effect. In the absence of proof on a prima facie basis of the alleged misrepresentation, there ceases to be any case for Chimombe to answer,” he said.
He further argued that there was no evidence demonstrating that Chimombe made the alleged misrepresentation.
He said although the witnesses that including John Basera and Alban Mhindurwa, said Chimombe attended meetings with Mpofu, there was no certainty in what capacity he attended the alleged meetings and his degree of participation in those meetings.
The lawyers submitted that government officials failed to produce minutes of the alleged meetings in which they sought to infer or insinuate that Chimombe attended on behalf of Blackdeck.
“The absence of minutes of the alleged meetings speaks volumes on the weakness of the respondent’s case, this is even though Chimombe admits attending only one meeting, which he denies ever presenting himself as representing Blackdeck.
“The only meeting which Chimombe admits having attended at the ministry is the meeting whose minutes were produced by the State through Mhindurwa as an exhibit,” the defence said.
The lawyers submitted that Chimombe was a director of Millytake Enterprises and his company participated in the tender process and failed to win the bid.
Dzvetero submitted that the Blackdeck (Pvt) Ltd’s documents which are part of the original bid document exhibit before the court, do not identify Chimombe as being a director, shareholder, official, agent, employee or anything else and there is no relationship whatsoever, if Chimombe is just but a close friend of Mpofu.
“We respectfully submit that Chimombe has no case to answer in respect of what the State sought to establish against him. We, therefore, move that Chimombe be discharged at the
close of the State case and a verdict of not guilty be retained,”they said.
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