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Yeukai Karengezeka-Court Correspondent

THE 12 employees from the Registrar General’s Office in Harare accused of fraudulently issuing passports to four Cameroonian nationals were yesterday denied bail by Harare regional magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa.

The accused Ruramai Mutyatya (47), Maureen Natasha Munemo (32), Chiedza Hlomani (34), Romio Shonhiwa (45), Marian Roman (40), Tanaka Lisaphael Magaya (27), Edith Moto (38), Grace Kapungu (34), Lackmore Chinokokora (34), Neria Sombi (44), Trymore Chipanga (26) and Acid Asidi (42) are charged with criminal abuse of office. Mrs Gofa ruled that the accused, who have been in custody since last week, were facing a serious offence and were also flight risks.

She ordered them to return on October 17 pending finalisation of investigations.

The complainant is the Registrar General’s passport office, Harare, represented by Mr Francis Mhangwa, who is the passports registrar.

Matyatya is employed by the complainant as a supervisor, while the other eight are employed as processing officers and the last three accused persons are employed by Advert (Pvt) (Ltd) Company as cleaners, currently seconded at the complainant premises.

Prosecutor Mr Lancelot Mutsokoti alleged that on September 17, at the Registrar General’s passports office, Harare, a suspect who is still at large and only known as Tafadzwa or Mai Tayara, hatched a plan to issue Zimbabwean passports to four Cameroonians: Christiana BoyembeDumba, Emile MuyaMuya, Marvel NgeiTegha and Yvette KumNnam, who were not Zimbabwean by birth and did not acquire Zimbabwean citizenship.

Tafadzwa had already fraudulently acquired the Zimbabwean birth certificates for the four Cameroonians at the Registrar’s Office in Mount Darwin and National Identity cards at the Registrar Office at Market Square, Harare.

She first connived with three cleaners to escort the four Cameroonians from stage one up to the final stage of acquiring passports, since the Cameroonians were not able to speak any local language or even pronounce the surnames on their newly acquired Zimbabwean identity documents.

They allegedly worked together with the nine processing officers at various stages in the process of passport issuance.

The processing officers did not verify the information on the passport application forms versus information on the birth certificates of the four Cameroonians which had discrepancies.

The court further heard that on September 21, the four Cameroonians were arrested at Beitbridge Border Post on their way to South Africa by Zimbabwean immigration officers, while using fraudulently acquired Zimbabwean passports, issued by the accused persons.

The Cameroonians, Christiana BoyembeDumba was issued a Zimbabwean passport, number BE259642 bearing the name Christiana Mhereyenyoka, Emile MuyaMuya was issued a Zimbabwean passport, number BE259641, bearing the name of Emile Chingwaru, Marvel NgeiTegha was issued a Zimbabwean passport, BE251567 bearing the name Marvel Chimbwanda and Yvette KumNnam was issued a Zimbabwean passport, number BE259643 bearing the name Yvette Maini.