Source: Top prosecutor cleared of graft, bribery charges | Herald (Crime)
Herald Reporter
Chief Public Prosecutor Mr Clement Chimbari has been acquitted of the charges of bribery and criminal abuse of office he was facing for allegedly refusing, in exchange for a plot, to seek the remand of two of the six suspects arrested over corruptly creating and selling stands in Kuwadzana.
Mr Chimbari was arrested in 2020 during investigations into the illegal sale of illegal stands in Kuwadzana in a US$1 million scam by Harare City Council officials.
He was charged with three police officers for accepting Westlea stands in return for not arresting nor charging two suspected kingpins in the scam. But Harare Regional Magistrate Mr Taurai Manwere said the State failed to prove there was a connection, and so failed to prove the essential elements of the charges, and so Mr Chimbari had to be acquitted at the end of the State case, without being put on his defence.
Magistrate Manwere said there was no evidence on which a reasonable court acting carefully might convict.
“Resultantly I hereby found the accused not guilty and acquitted in respect of the main alternative and alternative charge,” reads the disposition and verdict.
During September 2019, Harare municipality through Town Clerk Engineer Hosiah Chisango reported a case of suspected fraud in which Edgar Dzehonye, Mathew Marara, Rudo Chigocha, Believer Mpawaenda and Margeth Geroge were the suspected employees.
The fraud arose from the alleged creation and sale of 150 stands corruptly sold by Dzehonye, Marara and other accomplices in Kuwadzana 3, 4, and 5 to home-seekers without the knowledge or approval of council.
It is alleged that the council report was investigated by the two junior arrested police officers, Detective Assistant Inspector Claudious Majonga and Detective Constable Aaron Karuru.
These were under the supervision of Assistant Commissioner Obeylaw Moyo, Naboth Nyachega (rank not given) and Joseph Mutipforo (rank not given).
The investigations led to the arrest of Tapiwa Gona, Rudo Chigocha, Believer Mpawaenda and Margeth George who then appeared in court after the required paperwork was vetted by Chief Prosecutor Chimbare at the Harare Magistrates Courts.
On February 4, 2020, the four police officers in the direct investigation — Majonga, Karuru, Nyachega and Mutipforo — then arrested Dzehonye and Marara who appeared in court the following day.
Their docket was again vetted by Chief Prosecutor Chimbare, who was accused of ordering the release of Dzehonye and Marara and said the prosecution should proceed by way of summons should a trial be needed.
According to the State, this was despite the fact that the other four suspects had already appeared in court on the same charges and had been formally remanded, although released on $1 000 bail each.
Investigations carried out revealed that after the case of Dzehonye and Marara was ordered to proceed by way of summons, on March 19, 2020, Moyo, Majonga, Karuru and another unnamed suspect who was on the run.
The allegations against Mr Chimbare were that he and three of the police officers corruptly received waiting list numbers belonging to other home-seekers and were selected for allocation of unserviced residential stands in Westlea.
Moyo was allocated stand number 11450, Majonga 11449, Karuru 11448 and Chimbare 11437.
The total intrinsic value of the stands was then $219 938. The stands were allocated on the same date and at the same place which ruled out the possibility of a coincidence.
The allocation letters dated March 19, 2020, were allegedly corruptly signed by Dzehonye, one of those whom Mr Chimbare had declined to bring to court in a remand hearing, and who after being summoned to the CID Commercial Crimes on criminal charges was only made to sign a warned and caution statement and was released without going to court.
The court also heard that the allocation letters were counter-signed by Admore Nhekairo. It is alleged that in a bid to cover the offence, Dzehonye, Marara and Nhekairo corruptly manipulated council systems and policies to accommodate the four who had been unlawfully and corruptly allocated residential stands in Westlea.
Marara is also alleged to have corruptly terminated the contract of Head of Public Safety Negion Moyo who was representing City of Harare in Kuwadzana and also a key witness, in a bid to obstruct or defeat the course of justice.
On June 30, 2020 when Moyo, Majonga and Karuru learnt that they were being investigated by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, they then rushed to arrest Dzehonye and Marara before they appeared in court.