Chimombe, Mpofu rot in jail

ZANU-PF central committee member Mike Chimombe and his business partner Moses Mpofu have been denied bail once again in a case where they are accused of using forged documents to secure a street lighting tender in Harare.

In his ruling on Thursday, Harare regional magistrate Stanford Mambanje stated that the State had convincingly demonstrated that the accused posed a flight risk, given their extensive business interests which would enable them to live comfortably outside the country.

Mambanje also noted that the defense failed to provide evidence disproving the allegations that the two had misrepresented themselves using false documents.

The charges against Chimombe and Mpofu involve their company, Juluka Projects and Plant Hire, which allegedly used forged documents to win a bid to provide street lighting in Harare ahead of the SADC summit. The company had initially failed to meet the tender requirements.

The case has been postponed to September 12 for routine remand.

In a related matter, High Court judge Pisirayi Kwenda on Wednesday dismissed a bail appeal by Mpofu and Chimombe on a separate charge involving the alleged defrauding of the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture of US$7 million in a failed presidential goat supply project.