FORMER Mutare Town Clerk — Mr Obert Muzawazi — is facing
charges of siphoning more than US$500 000 from the local authority in a stands
scandal that also involves two other suspended senior council officials.
Messrs Muzawazi, Isdore Conelous Bingura and Ms Christian
Sithole were last week arraigned before Mutare provincial magistrate, Mr Tendai
Mahwe, facing nine counts of criminal abuse of office charges.
They were granted $1 000 bail each and were ordered to come
back to court on June 30.
Mr Mahwe also advised them not to interfere with State witnesses
and to continue residing at their given addresses.
Mr Tirivanhu Mutyasira prosecuted, while Mr Chris Ndlovu of
Gonese and Ndlovu Legal Practitioners represented the trio.
Mr Mutyasira said the three abused their powers as public
officers to rip-off the local authority.
“The three accused persons were employed by the City of
Mutare, with Muzawazi being the Town Clerk. Bingura was the para-legal clerk
and Sithole was the senior committee officer,” he said.
“The three suspects hatched a plan to abuse the powers
invested in their offices as public officials to sell and allocate residential
stands without following proper procedures of stands allocation as enshrined in
the Urban Councils’ Act.
“Acting in connivance, the three originated agreement of
sale documents for nine stands.
“The suspects flouted the council procedures of acquiring
stands and Mutare City Council suffered a prejudice of US$532 850,57. Nothing
was recovered,” said Mr Mutyasira.
But Mr Ndlovu said the charges laid against his clients
were “laughable”, since some of the stands have already been developed, with
the beneficiaries paying rates to council.
“The beneficiaries of the said stands paid directly to
council and were issued with receipts. How then was council prejudiced?” he
argued. Manica Post
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