Justice Pisirayi Kwenda did not indicate the date when he
will give his ruling. The judge said he
wanted sufficient time to study the submissions made by both the defence and
prosecution counsel.
Chimombe and Mpofu have since been indicted to face trial
at the High Court on October 1.
Harare regional magistrate, Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa indicted
Chimombe and Mpofu after the prosecution said it was ready to proceed to trial.
The duo’s defence team have been served with State papers,
including documentary evidence which includes Government Gazette, CR14, tax
clearance, and the contract addendum, to allow them to construct their
defences.
Charges against Chimombe and Mpofu arose when the two
allegedly forged documents to win the tender to supply goats under the
Presidential Goat Scheme.
According to investigations, their company Blackdeck (Pvt)
Ltd did not have a valid tax clearance, and that the QR code and the reference
on the NSSA compliance certificate were issued to a different company.
Blackdeck was de-registered from the NSSA system in January 2016.
Acting on the misrepresentation and the assumption that
what are alleged to be forged documents were genuine, on November 16, 2021, the
Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development signed a
contract with Blackdeck for the supply and delivery of 632 001 goats valued at
US$87,7 million.
The court heard that between April and June 2022, the
Ministry transferred a total of $1,6 billion, the equivalent of US$7 712 197,
into the Blackdeck bank account.
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