Fake passport suspect gets reprieve

A MAN accused of using fake documents to apply for a Zimbabwean passport was granted an order by provincial magistrate Tendai Mahwe to stall trial proceedings for him to recuperate.

Steven Paul Sudgen (41) filed an application last week to halt trial proceedings claiming he was ill and could not
stand trial. This prompted magistrate Mahwe to issue an order to have him examined by Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services doctors to ascertain his condition.

The State argued Sudgen was faking illness to stall proceedings. However, a medical report produced in court showed he was suffering from hypertension.

His lawyer, Admire Rubaya argued that while his client was stable, he was not fit to stand trial, as the prison doctors indicated that there were other tests that needed to be conducted.

Mahwe remanded him to September 15 to allow him to recuperate.

Prosecutor Francisca Mukumbiri alleged that sometime in April 2012, Sudgen applied for a passport at the Registrar-General's Office in Bindura using a fake birth certificate.

Sudgen also allegedly used a fake national identity card. It is alleged the Registrar-General's Office issued him with a passport, which is valid till 2022.

Using the same fake documents, sometime in December 2012, Sudgen allegedly applied for another passport in Chinhoyi.

Investigations revealed that the birth entry number belonged to Sarudzai Kufa and the identity card used belonged to White Jere.