City Lawyer, Prison officer abuse of office charges withdrawn

Bulawayo lawyer Tungamirai Nyengera who has since been jailed for three years and his accomplice Absolom Hlupo who was jailed for one and a half years after they fraudulently made a warrant of liberation to free a serving prisoner had another charge of criminal abuse of public office withdrawn before plea.

The two had connived to free a serving convict who was sentenced for a serious crime of car jacking and are alreading serving their jail terms. Nyengera had denied the fraud charge while Hlupo who initially denied the charge later admitted that he was paid to be involved in the scam when they appeared before the Gwanda based senior magistrate Reuben Mukavhi who was sitting at the Bulawayo Magistrates' Courts.

The abuse of office charges were still pending after the two were convicted of fraud and the Bulawayo magistrate Gladmore Mushove ruled that the charge has been dropped after the state conceded that the state witnesses and allegations making the fraud charge were the same as the one making the abuse of office hence they should be treated as one.

She said the two cases were based on the same facts.

Nyengera had been sentenced by Mukavhi to four years in jail. One year of the sentence was suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour.

While Hlupo had been sentenced to three years in jail. One year six months were suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour.

In sentencing them Mukavhi had said if the two were given none custodial sentence the public will lose confidence in the country's justice system hence they have to be incarcerated.

Hlupho, a principal prison officer at Khami was represented by Prayer Muzuzu, while Nyengera was represented by Godfrey Nyoni.

The two faked the warrant of liberation for Lungisani Sibanda, who was serving a seven-year jail term for carjacking.

The fake warrant of liberation had an authentic date stamp of Matabeleland Provincial Magistrate.

Prosecutor Blessing Gundani had presented the purported fake warrant of liberation and the printout of calls allegedly made by the two when they communicated with the convict's sister, who paid them to facilitate his release.

The court heard that on December 23 Hlupo went to Nyengera's office in the city and they allegedly connived to facilitate the release of a convicted serving prisoner Lungisani Sibanda through illegal means by producing a fraudulent warrant of liberation.

It is the State's case that Nyengera handed out a completed warrant of liberation, serial number 2578J to Hlupo. Hlupo took the fraudulent warrant of liberation to Khami Maximum Prison, where he tendered it to the officer-in-charge Superintendent Joe Matyavira, who was to process the warrant of liberation.

However, Matyavira discovered that it was a fraudulent document, leading to the two's arrest.