FORMER Local Government minister, Ignatius Chombo, was
yesterday removed from remand in a case he is accused of illegally facilitating
the sale of a government house in Mutare to ex-Zanu PF legislator Fred Kanzama.
This comes after the
State failed to secure a requisite policy document.
Chombo, who is jointly charged with former valuations and
estate management director Lazarus Chimba, appeared before Harare regional
magistrate Hosea Mujaya, who ordered the State to proceed by way of summons.
“I am not going to grant the postponement and I am not
saying the accused persons have been discharged. Further remand is hereby
refused,’ Mujaya ruled.
This was after prosecutor George Manokore had asked for a
month’s postponement because the investigating officer had failed to secure the
document.
He said officials in the Housing ministry failed to secure
the policy document mainly because the ministry previously run by Chombo had
been split into two in the new dispensation.
“They cannot trace it to any of their offices. We thought
that it could be with other departments, but that was not fruitful and the
bottom line is the document is not there.
“We appreciate that we are to blame in a way, but this is
beyond our control and ask for an opportunity to make a follow-up,” Manokore
said.
Chombo’s lawyer, Lovemore Madhuku, said Manokore’s
submissions confirmed that the document did not exist yet it was at the centre
of the allegations his client was facing.
Daily News
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