The inputs came from the Grain Marketing Board (GMB)
Mushumbi Pools Depot in Mbire, Mashonaland Central Province, and were intended
for farmers.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul
Nyathi last night said three people suspected
to be his runners were also arrested.
Further information on the arrest and charges was not
available last night, but police said they would give more details today.
However, the first person arrested for involvement in the
alleged fraud was the depot manager of Mushumbi, Lovejoy Ngowe, and yesterday
he was in court for his initial remand on three counts of fraud.
Harare magistrate Mrs Yeukai Dzuda is keeping him in
custody for the weekend and will hear his bail application through lawyer Mr
Batanai Pesanai on Monday.
The alleged corrupt deals involving Karoro, Ngowe and
several people hired by Karoro were outlined at Ngowe’s remand hearing by the
State led by Mr Anesu Chirenje.
It is alleged that last month, Deputy Minister Karoro
approached Jeremy Phiri, who was also on the wanted list yesterday as a main
middleman, and told him that he was looking for buyers for 700 bags of Compound
D fertiliser at US$16 per 50kg bag.
Phiri is said to have contacted Widdorn Chiodza, who was
interested in buying the fertiliser.
On April 21, Phiri, according to the State, met Chiodza who
handed over US$10 700, almost the full price.
Phiri then allegedly took this money to Deputy Minister
Karoro, who told him that the fertiliser was at GMB Mushumbi Depot.
That same day at around 3pm, Deputy Minister Karoro called
depot manager Ngowe and told him that he was sending trucks to collect his
Compound D.
Ngowe allegedly asked for details of the trucks and was
given contact details for Dean Zimunya and the following day Zimunya took
Chiodza and three trucks to Mushumbi Pools Depot and loaded the 700 x 50kg bags
of fertiliser, with Ngowe issuing goods dispatched vouchers in the name of
Deputy Minister Karoro.
Chiodza is said to have returned to Harare and offloaded
the fertiliser at his place in Kuwadzana.
But the following day, just two days after handing over the
cash, Chiodza allegedly received a call from Zimunya telling him to return the
fertiliser saying the deal had gone sour.
Chiodza refused, whereupon Zimunya and Karoro allegedly
then engaged Mugove Chidamba to help them recover the fertiliser from Chiodza.
After negotiations on April 24 Chidamba managed to recover
400 bags and refunded Chiodza US$6 400.
In a complex arrangement allegedly to cover up the issuance
and movement of fertiliser, Deputy Minister Karoro and Chidamba allegedly hired
transporter Richard Tsiga to ferry the recovered 400 bags to GMB Aspindale
purporting that they wanted to swap it with Ammonium Nitrate. To get the full
700 bags Chidamba went out and bought another 300 bags of Compound D from Farm
& City.
On the following day, Deputy Minister Karoro allegedly
personally escorted Tsiga with a truck loaded with 400 bags of Compound D
fertiliser to GMB Aspindale for the first part of the swap deal. However, GMB
Aspindale refused to accept the fertiliser on the grounds that the
documentation was not properly done.
The court heard that it was then that Deputy Minister
Karoro intervened and negotiated for the swap with the Aspindale GMB chain
supply manager Obert Zhoya.
Zhoya then instructed Ngowe at Mushumbi to raise a
depot-to-depot transfer so that they could accept the fertiliser at GMB
Aspindale, which Ngowe did and sent the paperwork to Aspindale, which then
accepted the 400 bags.
Tsiga’s truck was then loaded with 400 AN bags and he was
sent to GMB Mushumbi depot, but they never arrived and this was when the whole
deal started unravelling.
The missing consignment came to light later when Deputy
Minister Karoro allegedly sent another truck with the extra 300 bags of
Compound D bought commercially in Harare to GMB Aspindale for the second half
of the swap.
This time Aspindale opted to use their own truck to ferry
the swapped 300 bags of AN to GMB Mushumbi with a depot-to-depot transfer
voucher.
On April 29, Ngowe allegedly confirmed receipt of the 300
bags of AN from GMB Aspindale. But that was when GMB Aspindale’s chain supply
manager Zhoya quizzed Ngowe on the whereabouts of the first truck which was
loaded with 400 bags of AN destined for Mushumbi depot. He was told it never
arrived.
GMB Aspindale asked Deputy Minister Karoro to return those
400 bags of AN to GMB Aspindale, as the swop had not taken place. He allegedly
contacted Tsiga, who told him that the fertiliser was offloaded at Chidamba’s
place. There it had been sold.
Deputy Minister Karoro then allegedly went to Mbare to a
place known as Kuma Banana and recovered 200 bags of AN, before he engaged
Tsiga to take them back to GMB Aspindale while the deputy minister asked
Chidamba to look for the remaining 200 bags of AN.
According to the State, on April 30, Chidamba went to
Dzivaresekwa where he bought 69 bags of cotton calcium AN and 132 bags of
calcium AN, which were then transported back to GMB Aspindale in the presence
of Deputy Minister Karoro.
The State alleges that the stolen fertilisers were worth
US$27 300 and 501 bags of fertiliser, suspected to be fake, were recovered.
On the maize seed dealings, on March 7, Ngowe received seed
maize worth US$18 030 which was meant for Presidential Input Programme to
benefit the Mbire Constituency.
He allegedly connived with Deputy Minister Karoro and they
converted the seed to their own use.
On March 23, Deputy Minister Karoro allegedly received 5
000 vegetable combo kits from Valley Seeds (Private) Limited, which was
supposed to be handed over to GMB Mushumbi under the Presidential Inputs
Programme.
However, he allegedly connived with Ngowe and they
converted the seed to their own use.
In a bid to sanitise their alleged misdeeds, Deputy
Minister Karoro and Ngowe ordered GMB Mushumbi depot inputs clerk, Honesty
Nyathi and security guard, Manyara Manuwere, to create paperwork by
fraudulently booking the consignment in the Goods Received Voucher, Goods
Dispatch Voucher, Gate Book and Stack Register to appear as if the consignment
had been received and despatched to the deputy minister.
GMB allegedly lost US$25 000 in that transaction. Herald
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