RBZ Officials' Case: Prosecution Authority Certificate Disappears
A prosecution authority certificate in the case of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) officials accused of leaking confidential information on the de-dollarisation of the economy to the public has gone missing.
The issue was revealed yesterday when prosecutor Oscar Madhume told Harare magistrate Noel Mupeiwa that the prosecution certificate, which was signed by Prosecutor-General Kumbirai Hodzi, could not be found.
RBZ economists Smart Manda (44) and Philton Makena (40) are being accused of leaking a confidential document on the de-dollarisation of the economy to unauthorised persons, resulting in it going viral on social media.
The incident happened in March last year after RBZ governor John Mangudya assigned John Mafararikwa, the director for economic policy and research, to work on a document titled De-dollarisation Roadmap, which would assist the Finance and Economic Development ministry in the de-dollarisation of the economy over a five-year period.
The document was then leaked and went viral on social media.
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The duo is being charged with contravening section 60(1) of the RBZ Act Chapter 22:15, which stipulates the preservation of secrecy by bank employees.
Madhume asked for a postponement of the trial. He said:
We are asking for a postponement to another date. For the proceedings to start, there must be an authority from the prosecutor-general. All was done to secure the authority. Unfortunately, due to the movements of the docket, the authority was misplaced and we are running around to (locate) it. I would humbly request for this matter to be postponed to Tuesday November 9 subject to availability of the authority.
But the lawyer representing one of the accused persons, Ashley Mugiya, opposed the postponement saying his client should be removed from remand. He said:
The accused persons have been on remand for a period exceeding one year. The State said they were ready for trial in December 2020. There must be a good cause for postponement. There was time to make that authority available.
Mupeiwa, however, dismissed the application saying new developments in the case would allow the prosecution time to put its house in order.
The matter was postponed to November 9 for trial.
Manda is being represented by Mugiya, while Gift Chihuta is appearing on behalf of Makena.
More: NewsDay
