Pfumbidzayi offers 3 houses for bail GRACE PFUMBIDZAI
GRACE PFUMBIDZAI

GRACE PFUMBIDZAI

Fidelis Munyoro Chief Court Reporter
Jailed former Air Zimbabwe company secretary Grace Pfumbidzayi has offered three immovable properties with a combined value of $135 000 as surety for bail pending appeal against a seven-year prison term imposed on her for criminal abuse of office. Pfumbidzayi was jailed along with the airline’s former chief executive Peter Chikumba. They were slapped with 10 years each, but had three years suspended on condition of good behaviour.

Pfumbidzayi has offered a house in Southerton, Harare, with a market value of $30 000 and another one in Masvingo valued at $25 000 plus a Plot measuring 5 813 hectares along Lake Mtirikwi valued at $80 000 in a bid to buy her freedom.

Pfumbidzayi increased the offer after High Court judge Justice Happias Zhou, a fortnight ago felt the bid was not enough.

The judge asked the defence led by Advocate Webster Chinamhora to offer more security as part of the bail condition before the court decides on the application. Pfumbidzayi had initially offered the Southerton house.

But on Tuesday, Pfumbidzayi raised the offer by an additional two properties in Masvingo. The prosecution led by Mr Innocent Muchini, however, argued that all the properties offered as security were not in Pfumbidzayi’s name. He argued that she would not personally suffer anything by absconding. Mr Muchini further argued that her co-accused Chikumba was denied bail by the same court hence they should be treated the same.

But Adv Chinamhora argued that it was not a requirement of the law for security to be in the name of the accused.

“The very fact that third parties were volunteering to risk their properties was evidence of their confidence that she would not abscond,” said Adv Chinamhora.

Regarding Chikumba’s unsuccessful bid for bail pending appeal, Adv Chinamhora said the judge in that case had made a finding that the former Airzim boss had no reasonable prospects of success on appeal and that he was likely to abscond.

“In Pfumbidzayi’s case, the State had made a significant concession that she has reasonable prospects of success on appeal. That automatically put their cases on different footing,” said Adv Chinamhora.

After hearing submissions from both the defence and State lawyers, Justice Zhou reserved ruling to a later date.

Charges against Chikumba and Pfumbidzayi arose after an anomaly was discovered pertaining to amounts paid between April 2009 and April 2013 to a company called Navistar Insurance Brokers (Private) Limited (Navistar) in respect of aviation insurance premiums.

The State accused the duo of enlisting the services of Navistar to provide aviation and insurance cover without going to tender after terminating services of other existing companies. Chikumba, through his lawyer Admire Rubaya challenged the lower court’s ruling, arguing that she erred at law. He lost the case after Justice Owen Tagu threw out the application for lack of merit.

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