News / National
Chimombe, Mpofu to turn state witnesses against Chivayo?
24 Jun 2024 at 06:24hrs | Views
Two businessmen linked to the inflation of contracts worth over US$100 million awarded by the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) were grilled by anti-corruption investigators on Monday.
Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe were also interviewed over the alleged misappropriation of ZWL1.6 billion after winning a tender to buy over 600,000 goats under the Presidential Goat Scheme.
Their lawyer Tapson Dzvetero, speaking outside the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission offices in Harare, said: "We just presented our clients to ZACC who indicated that they will call us when they need us. My clients are willing to assist with any investigation. For now, we have been excused."
Chimombe and Mpofu are believed to have offered to turn state witnesses in the investigation into the ZEC contracts for election materials after their fallout with their partner Wicknell Chivayo, who is alleged to have banked millions of dollars from the tenders.
Chivayo, Mpofu and Chimombe, working with gold dealer Scott Sakupwanya of Better Brands, reached an agreement with South African company Ren Form CC to bid for ZEC tenders.
They then added millions of dollars to Ren Form invoices, inflating prices of goods supplied to ZEC.
Under the agreement, Ren Form then paid them "commission" through South African bank accounts.
The partners fell out after Chivayo allegedly renegotiated the deal with Ren Form and he stopped paying them their share of the "commission."
ZEC, Ren Form and Chivayo deny wrongdoing,
Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe were also interviewed over the alleged misappropriation of ZWL1.6 billion after winning a tender to buy over 600,000 goats under the Presidential Goat Scheme.
Their lawyer Tapson Dzvetero, speaking outside the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission offices in Harare, said: "We just presented our clients to ZACC who indicated that they will call us when they need us. My clients are willing to assist with any investigation. For now, we have been excused."
Chimombe and Mpofu are believed to have offered to turn state witnesses in the investigation into the ZEC contracts for election materials after their fallout with their partner Wicknell Chivayo, who is alleged to have banked millions of dollars from the tenders.
They then added millions of dollars to Ren Form invoices, inflating prices of goods supplied to ZEC.
Under the agreement, Ren Form then paid them "commission" through South African bank accounts.
The partners fell out after Chivayo allegedly renegotiated the deal with Ren Form and he stopped paying them their share of the "commission."
ZEC, Ren Form and Chivayo deny wrongdoing,
Source - zimlive
