Convicted business partners Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu are set to be sentenced today (Monday) at the High Court over a high-profile fraud case.
The two ZANU PF members were found guilty of using forged documents to secure a government tender to supply 632,001 goats under a livestock pass-on programme, worth US$87,757.16.
Although the tender was originally awarded to Blackdeck Private Limited, the contract was ultimately signed by an unregistered entity, Blackdeck Livestock and Poultry Farming, with the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development.
The programme was aimed at helping vulnerable groups such as orphans, widows, the elderly, the disabled, and the chronically ill, as identified through a Ministry of Public Service database.
Investigations later revealed that the company didn’t have a valid 2021 tax clearance certificate, and a QR code on its NSSA compliance document was traced to a completely different firm, Skywalk Investments.
Prosecutor Whisper Mabhaudi has asked the court to hand down a 35-year custodial sentence.
Mpofu’s lawyer, John Koto, argued that using forged documents shouldn’t automatically be equated with actually executing the contract.
Chimombe’s lawyer, Lovemore Madhuku, acknowledged the seriousness of the offence but said Chimombe played a minor role and that the Ministry officials had failed to carry out proper due diligence during the tender process.
Justice Pisirayi Kwenda will deliver the sentence later today.
More: The Herald
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