Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister
Prisca Mupfumira is a flight risk as she is a holder of two passports and has
properties in the United Kingdom, a High Court judge heard.
Mupfumira, who was arrested by the recently constituted
Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, will spend the weekend in remand prison
after Justice Erica Ndewere yesterday deferred her bail application to Monday.
Justice Ndewere postponed the matter to allow the State to
call the investigating officer to give evidence during Mupfumira’s bail
application.
Mupfumira is facing criminal abuse of public office charges
amounting to $95 million. She was detained last week after the State invoked
Section 32 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, which allows it to seek
further detention of a suspect up to 21 days to conduct further investigations.
The State led by Mrs Sharon Fero challenged Mupfumira’s
bail application arguing that there was already a certificate from the
Prosecutor-General that bars any court from entertaining her bail application
before the stipulated 21 days lapsed.
“An aggrieved part can only approach this court when an
inferior court has made a determination in relation to bail. I submit that the
magistrate did not entertain the issue of bail. He was never asked to make a
determination. He did not refuse to grant the applicant bail, so, for that
reason the appeal ought to be struck off the roll,” said Mrs Fero.
She accused Mupfumira of trying to take her bail
application to the High Court through the back door. “This court has no right
to hear a case which is being brought via the back door,” she said.
Mupfumira, through her lawyer, Advocate Lewis Uriri, who is
acting on the instructions of Mr Charles Chinyama, said they had a right to be
heard, arguing that they were rightly before the court.
When Justice Ndewere ruled that the court had jurisdiction
to hear Mupfumira’s bail application, the State then opposed granting bail
arguing that investigations into the matter were still going-on.
Mrs Fero said Mupfumira had two passports and also had
properties in the United Kingdom and was likely to abscond if granted bail. She said there was need for the investigating officer to
testify to that effect.
Adv Uriri denied that Mupfumira had properties in the
United Kingdom, saying being a holder of two passports did not mean that she
will not stand trial.
He said Mupfumira late last month travelled out of the
country and returned with full knowledge of the allegations she is facing.
Justice Ndewere deferred the matter to Monday for
continuation of the bail application and the investigating officer is expected
to testify. Herald
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