Chimombe, Mpofu's properties to be forfeited

High Court Judge Justice Pisirayi Kwenda has found Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe, both Zanu-PF members and business partners, guilty of defrauding the government of US$7 million in a fraudulent goats procurement deal. The pair are now awaiting sentencing, and the State has filed a notice seeking the forfeiture of properties acquired with the misappropriated funds.

Mpofu and Chimombe have been in custody for over a year following their arrest in June last year.

In his judgment, Justice Kwenda noted that Mpofu "shot himself in the foot" by claiming that all actions were undertaken in his capacity as a company director and under instruction, leaving the State with sufficient proof of personal liability. Kwenda also dismissed Chimombe's defense that he was implicated merely by association, emphasizing that there was no legal basis for such a claim.

The judge scrutinized Mpofu's credibility, highlighting his failure to call crucial witnesses to corroborate his defense, with one purported witness's death unverified by evidence. "Where a litigant threatens to call witnesses and later abdicates, the usual inference is that the witness, if called, would not confirm that defense," Kwenda said.

The court also addressed the corporate liability aspect, explaining that a company is a legal fiction:

"A company is just a person in terms of the law. You cannot separate the acts of a company from the acts of the person who represents it. Mpofu submitted a bid containing falsified information and failed to call witnesses to confirm he was not involved."

Regarding Chimombe, Kwenda concluded that his participation in meetings and decision-making showed he had a mandate to control the affairs of the entity involved. Testimony from witnesses confirmed Chimombe's active involvement in advancing the fraudulent scheme, rather than merely attending meetings to resolve disputes.

Mpofu and Chimombe face allegations linked to the Presidential Goat Scheme, where they allegedly defrauded the Ministry of Lands after securing a tender using a non-existent company, Blackdeck. The fraud involved falsified information intended to secure public funds unlawfully.

The judge previously noted that the presumptive penalty for fraud is 20 years, especially when it involves public funds, large sums, or holders of public office-aggravating factors that could influence both sentencing and bail decisions. This was cited when Kwenda denied bail for the two, stating their potential flight risk given the severity of the likely sentence.

The court has yet to announce the final sentencing date, but both Mpofu and Chimombe are expected to face substantial custodial penalties given the scale and seriousness of the fraud.