Chimombe and
Mpofu being are accused of misrepresenting to the Lands, Agriculture, Water,
Fisheries and Rural Development ministry in tender documents that Blackdeck
Livestock and Poultry Farming was a registered company in Zimbabwe with a valid
Zimra tax clearance certificate and a valid Nssa compliance certificate.
The duo was
expected to deliver 85 691 goats after being paid ZWL$1,6 billion (about US$7
712 197,10 equivalent), but supplied
only 4 208 goats, prejudicing the government of US$7 380 751,85. Nothing was
recovered.
The State led
evidence from more than five witnesses and the defence led by Tapson Dzvetero
and Ashiel Mugiya submitted that they failed to prove a case against the
accused persons.
The defence
submitted that there is no prima facie case established by the State against
Chimombe that warrants placing him on his defence.
The lawyers
submitted that there was no direct evidence linking Chimombe to the alleged
offence, saying the evidence submitted so far was unreliable and that the court
can discharge him without being harassed to conduct his defence.
“The accused
has to establish that no evidence has been adduced by the State to prove the
essential elements of the offence alleged against the accused, such that no
court applying its mind to the State case can convict. Another test can be that
the evidence so far from the State is manifestly unreliable.
At the close of
the State case, it is submitted that none of the State witnesses managed to
directly link Chimombe to the offence alleged against him.
“None of the
State witnesses managed to adduce evidence to show that Chimombe was directly
or indirectly involved in the preparation of Blackdeck’s bid documents.
“The State
opened and closed its case without establishing how exactly Chimombe made the
alleged misrepresentation to the ministry that the company was a registered
company with a valid Zimra tax clearance certificate and a Nssa compliance
certificate. Was the misrepresentation verbal or written? We do not know.”
Dzetero said
the absence of evidence establishing the alleged misrepresentation by Chimombe,
either before the submission of the bid document by Blackdeck or after the
contract had been awarded by the ministry to the company, seemed to be common
cause.
“There is
simply no evidence to that effect. In the absence of proof on a prima facie
basis of the alleged misrepresentation, there ceases to be any case for
Chimombe to answer,” he said.
He further
argued that there was no evidence demonstrating that Chimombe made the alleged
misrepresentation.
He said
although the witnesses that including John Basera and Alban Mhindurwa, said
Chimombe attended meetings with Mpofu, there was no certainty in what capacity
he attended the alleged meetings and his degree of participation in those
meetings.
The lawyers
submitted that government officials failed to produce minutes of the alleged
meetings in which they sought to infer or insinuate that Chimombe attended on
behalf of Blackdeck.
“The absence of
minutes of the alleged meetings speaks volumes on the weakness of the
respondent's case, this is even though Chimombe admits attending only one
meeting, which he denies ever presenting himself as representing Blackdeck.
“The only
meeting which Chimombe admits having attended at the ministry is the meeting
whose minutes were produced by the State through Mhindurwa as an exhibit,” the
defence said.
The lawyers
submitted that Chimombe was a director of Millytake Enterprises and his company
participated in the tender process and failed to win the bid.
Dzvetero
submitted that the Blackdeck (Pvt) Ltd's documents which are part of the
original bid document exhibit before the court, do not identify Chimombe as
being a director, shareholder, official, agent, employee or anything else and
there is no relationship whatsoever, if Chimombe is just but a close friend of
Mpofu.
“We
respectfully submit that Chimombe has no case to answer in respect of what the
State sought to establish against him. We, therefore, move that Chimombe be
discharged at the
close of the
State case and a verdict of not guilty be retained,”they said. Newsday
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