Chikumba, Air Zimbabwe’s ex-chief executive, and
Pfumbidzai, the airline’s former corporate secretary, were in 2015, convicted
of criminal abuse of office and sentenced to an effective seven years in prison
each.
They were then freed by the High Court on bail pending the
determination of their appeal against conviction and sentence. Former High
Court judge Justice Edith Mushore later dismissed their appeals, saying they
were fatally defective.
Their lawyers had unsuccessfully applied for permission to
amend the notice of appeal, resulting in the dismissal of the appeals. The
judge said it was not possible to amend a fatally defective appeal.
On Monday during a civil appeals court, Harare High Court
judges, Justices Pisirayi Kwenda and Benjamin Chikowero quashed Chikumba and
Pfumbidzai’s convictions.
“Whereupon, after reading documents filed of record and
hearing counsel, it is ordered by consent that the appeal be and is hereby
allowed. The conviction is quashed,” ruled the judges.
Pfumbidzai was represented by Advocate Thabani Mpofu while
Chikumba’s lawyer was Tapiwanashe Kujinga.
Pfumbidzai and Chikumba appealed against both conviction
and sentence, arguing that they were wrongly convicted.
In the notice of appeal, their lawyers submitted that the
magistrate misdirected herself by failing to assess all the evidence adduced in
the trial.
The magistrate, the lawyers argued, erred by concluding
that the auditor, Bhudhama Chikamhi, was a credible witness when he stood to
benefit financially by testifying against the duo.
Charges against Pfumbidzai and Chikumba arose after an
anomaly was discovered by former Air Zimbabwe board chairman Mr Ozias Bvute
pertaining to amounts paid between April 2009 and April 2013 to a company
called Navistar Insurance Brokers (Private) Limited in respect of aviation
insurance premiums.
The State accused the duo of enlisting the services of
Navistar to provide aviation and insurance cover without going to tender after
terminating services of other existing companies.
Pfumbidzai and Chikumba also inflated aviation insurance
premiums payments made to Colemont Reinsurance Brokers (Private) Limited and
Reinsurance Brokers (Private) Limited, both United Kingdom-based companies.
The firm released €15 452,93 to Navistar, €10 607 859,22 to
the two British companies, while they pocketed €5 895 695,49. Chronicle
0 comments:
Post a Comment