HARARE – The Supreme Court has upheld a recent High Court ruling which ordered the return of former Zanu PF legislator and businessman Justice Mayor Wadyajena’s Lamborghini and over a dozen trucks and tractors seized from the controversial politician in 2022 by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).

The order puts to an end, a bid by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and ZACC to cling on to Wadyajena’s pricey possessions arguing the property formed proceeds of money laundering and related crimes allegedly committed by the former Gokwe-Nembudziya MP and his alleged accomplices.

The High Court had ruled in August this year it was no longer lawful for ZACC to keep holding onto the property when Wadyajena had been cleared of any wrongdoing.

ZACC seized the vehicles when it opened investigations into alleged money laundering by the former legislator in 2022.

But a three-panel bench on Monday concurred with the High Court’s decision after Wadyajena had argued that ZACC had no basis to hold on to his vehicles.

Wadyajena’s lawyer Oliver Marwa said if ZACC had anything further to investigate, then the three years in which it had been holding on to the politician’s property was sufficient time to come out with anything tangible.

“The Supreme Court ruled on the appeal by the NPA, which was contesting the High Court order for NPA and ZACC to release the property that was seized by ZACC and the NPA from Mayor Logistics,” Marwa told the media.

“When they brought the matter to the Supreme Court, they wanted the Supreme Court to rule that what the High Court had done was wrong, but the Supreme Court agreed with us that they had no mandate in keeping that property because the High Court judgment by Justice Kwenda was clear that they had 30 days within which to keep that property, but they exceeded two years.

“There has been no end in sight for the intended prosecution for our clients. Our clients have always maintained that they were innocent, that those properties were theirs, they were legitimately acquired.”

Wadyajena and his company, Mayor Logistics Private Limited launched the appeal after ZACC had refused to return the movable property when his case collapsed in court.

The flamboyant politician and six others who include some COTTCO bosses were arrested and arraigned before the magistrates’ court on three charges of money laundering and three counts of fraud in 2022.

They were accused of fleecing COTTCO of millions of US dollars through creating false invoices for the supply of bale ties to the state company.

The monies realised, according to prosecutors at the time, were laundered through various companies in which Wadyajena and his company had interests.

On 6 February 2023, the magistrates’ courts refused a further remand with the state advised to proceed through summons.

However, ZACC elected to keep the property claiming they needed 30 days to conduct parallel investigations into the matter.

Wadyajena applied and won a High Court order for the return of his property.

A judgement was made in his favour in May this year but ZACC put spanners in his wake through launching a Supreme Court appeal demanding the release of his property.

Wadyajena returned to file an urgent High Court application for leave to execute the judgement pending a Supreme Court determination on the matter.

He listed ZACC and the Prosecutor General of Zimbabwe as first and second respondents respectively.

In his ruling, Justice Chitapi concurred with Wadyajena’s lawyers that the ex-MP was being prejudiced of potential revenue through continued holding of his trucks.