HARARE – A top police chief accused of corruptly out a police farm to an ex-girlfriend received payments from the woman’s company as late as December 2020, despite his insistence that he no longer has business or romantic connections with her, a court heard on Thursday.
Commissioner Erasmus Makodza, charged with concealing a transaction from a principal, denies influencing the awarding of the lease to Maonei Chapfudza, and has told his trial that he did not participate in meetings that led to the signing of the contract.
Makodza and Chapfudza have a child together.
Prosecution witness Eric Chacha, an investigator for the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commissioner (ZACC) took the stand as Makodza’s trial continued before Harare magistrate Noel Mupeiwa.
Chacha said between 2017 and June 2019, Makodza was listed as one of Jeriel Enterprises (Pvt) Limited’s directors together with Chapfudza. In June 2019, the company removed Makodza and a new director was appointed, Chacha said as the National Prosecuting Authority tabled as evidence the CR14 form showing the change of directors.
Makodza’s lawyer Tapiwa Makanza objected to the submission of the CR14, arguing that the document has no relevance since Chapfudza had not been awarded the contract when the police chief – then the officer commanding Mashonaland East province where the farm is located – was a director.
“When you obtained the bank statements, you were given the CR14 and account opening forms from January 1, 2020, to date. Those documents (account opening forms) should be tendered along with the bank statements,” Makanza protested.
Prosecutor Tafara Chirambira, in response, told the court that documents that Makodza wanted to be tendered were irrelevant to their case.
Magistrate Mupeiwa overruled the defence as he admitted the company documents into evidence, saying they could show a link to allegations Makodza is facing, specifically the possibility of a commercial relationship between him and Chapfudza.
Chacha said the agreement for Chapfudza to take over the management of the farm was signed in June 2019, but the discussions had started in February 2019 – he insists at the time Makodza was a director of Jeriel Enterprises.
He submitted a bank statement which he said showed Makodza benefited from income generated at the farm months after he had stepped down as a director on paper.
Said Chacha: “I acquired a search warrant from the court and went to the company’s banker where we got the bank statement showing transactions. The statement was recorded from the bank manager and confirmed the CR14.”
The bank statements, according to the ZACC investigator, established that on July 10, 2020, Z$200,000 was paid to Marondera municipality for Makodza’s residential stand. A month later on August 14, Jeriel Enterprises again paid a Z$100,000 instalment on the stand.
On August 19 and November 5, 2020, the company made Z$6,000 payments to ZRP Mashonaland East as lease payments for the farm.
The transactions, according to Chacha, also showed that Makodza got another payment of Z$32,350 on December 7, 2020, it was stated for “fuel”.
The trial continues on October 13.
