HARARE – Embattled business partners Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu have launched a fresh bail application at the magistrates’ court after their freedom bid through the High Court hit a brick wall earlier this week.
The two had approached the High Court directly seeking bail in a matter they are accused of fraudulently acquiring a US$9,2 million streetlights tender from the Harare City Council.
High Court Judge Benjamin Chikowero threw their application out and ordered them to try the magistrates’ court first before presenting their case before the High Court.
Another judge Pisirayi Kwenda also dismissed their appeal in a matter they are accused of a US$7 million goat supply scheme fraud.
The two have since returned to the lower court to present a new bail application in a matter in which they are charged of falsifying documents while bidding for the Harare street lights rehabilitation tender earlier this year.
The two denied the allegations arguing that the company which won the tender, Juluka Projects Limited is the one that should be charged for the said offence.
“It is applicants’ defence that a re-tender is the same tender and an applicant can use the same receipt,” their lawyers argued in court while going into the merits of the alleged crime.
“In any case, there are no misrepresentations because that receipt contained the same representations of the date on when the amount was paid, the amount paid, to whom it was paid and in respect of which the tender was paid.
“Applicants did not state in their representations that it was now a new receipt. Thus, their representations were true.”
The lawyers further said the two even consulted City of Harare officials in relation to their documents and such documents were approved.
“There is no strong evidence that the applicants submitted documents prepared by an unregistered consultant company as alleged. The State’s case is weak,” lawyers further argued.
They also dismissed the State’s allegations that the two received US$260,000 as part payment, noting that they only received US$206,146.13 as payment for some of the work which they had already undertaken through their company.
“The state does not allege that which of the applicants received money personally, if at all, after the alleged commission of the offence, which clearly shows a characteristic of victimisation which ought to be frowned upon by the courts as the courts cannot be used as a conduit to abuse the criminal justice system.
“Such frowning can be achieved by admitting the applicants to bail since there is no iota of the state case that can stand the test of time, put differently, the state case is manifestly doomed to fail,” they further argued.
The presiding magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa remanded the matter to next Tuesday for ruling after the state represented by Anesu Chirenje made an undertaking to file a written response to the application.
