HARARE – FORMER President Robert Mugabe may be an important witness for the defence in former Mines Minister Walter Chidhakwa’s corruption trial, a court heard.
Chidhakwa and Francis Gudyanga, the former permanent secretary in the ministry, said this when they appeared before Harare magistrate Estere Chivasa on Tuesday.
Chidhakwa is facing a charge of abuse of office for appointing a one-man board made up of Gudyanga at the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ). The prosecution says MMCZ was prejudiced of over $28,000 in board sitting fees and allowances collected by Gudyanga.
But the duo told their trial that former President Mugabe had authorised the parastatal to have a single board member, instead of eight as required by law.
Their trial was postponed to a later date to allow them to obtain written proof from Mugabe, whom they claim to have authorised the arrangement.
“The state papers were only availed to us last night and we’ve not been able to take instructions from our clients to craft their defence. We’re going to be requesting for correspondence between the accused and former President through the Secretary in the Office of the President Ray Ndlukula,” said lawyer Sylvester Hashiti, assisted by Tafadzwa Muvhami.
“We also require cabinet minutes that relate to several other state enterprises to prove that ministers acted in the same manner as the accused did at all other state enterprises.”
Gundyanga is being prosecuted for sitting on the MMCZ board alone.
He is accused of unlawfully pocketing board fees and allowances for a maximum of ten people who were supposed to sit on the board as stipulated by the MMCZ Act.
