Businessmen Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu have been placed in remand prison by Harare Regional Magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa. The two are accused of misappropriating $88 million from the “Presidential Goat Pass-on Scheme”.
Investigations later revealed that the QR code and reference on the NSSA certificate belonged to a different company. The Ministry of Lands, acting on the misrepresentation, paid a total of ZWL 1.6 billion to the company in 2021. The accused persons misrepresented that they had delivered 32,500 goats while they only supplied 4 208. The rest of the money, worth over US$ 7 million, was used for personal use and never recovered.
Chimombe and Mpofu Spend The Night In Custody
Mpofu and Chimombe are set to spend the night in custody and will return to court the following day. 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).
Defence’s Counterarguments
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.
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