Former Cabinet Minister Saviour Kasukuwere, who is facing four counts of alleged abuse of office, made an application for exception on all the charges as he believes that he did not act criminally in any way.
Through his lawyers, Kasukuwere argues that as minister he had the power to allocate land, therefore, there was no deviation from his powers when he awarded the tenders as he did. He also said that if there was a procurement contract that was signed, it would have been signed by an accounting officer. Kasukuwere said since he could not legally be the accounting officer as well, it means that he did not breach the Procurement Act as suggested in his charges. He says the accounting officer should be the one being questioned.
The State said that they needed time to respond. Presiding magistrate Mr Hosea Mujaya rolled the matter over to November 28. Kasukuwere is facing four charges of abuse of office emanating from the time he was Minister for Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment and that of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing.
More: Herald
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