Biti legal clerk’s trial commences

Crime Reporter

THE trial of CCC co-vice president Tendai Biti’s legal clerk, Constantine Chaza, on allegations of forging court documents opened yesterday with the complainant, Mr Tendai Mashamhanda,  chronicling how he unearthed the offences.

Chaza is charged with fraud and perjury.

Through his lawyer Mr Admire Rubaya, Chaza denied the allegations when he appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Munashe Chibanda.

Chaza told the court that Mr Mashamhanda abused his connections with “powers that be” to raise allegations against him.

When giving his testimony as a State witness, Mr Mashamhanda, said he was shocked to learn that Chaza had submitted several fake affidavits and documents including the Special Power of Attorney during court proceedings he was also part of.

Mr Mashamhanda said that the Special Power of Attorney was manufactured, as did not bear a notarial stamp.

“On the Special Power of Attorney, there was no notarial stamp and for it to be a valid power of attorney it should have the notarial stamp in terms of the international standards,” he said.

Mr Mashamhanda also said that he also noted that the signature on the special power of attorney dated September 27, 2015 looked different from that of Mr Elliot Rogers, especially on an affidavit dated October 7, 2014.

He told the court that finding on police forensic investigations proved that the two signatures were not appended by the same person.

Mr Mashamhanda described the differences in the signatures as shocking and unbelievable.

“The CID Forensic Laboratory was roped in to analyse that document and compared it with other documents signed by Eliot Rogers.

“They concluded that the documents were not signed by the same person,” he said.

Prosecutor Mrs Shambadzeni Fungura alleges that on February 26, 2020 at the High Court in Harare, Chaza tendered a fake special power of attorney from Mr Eliot Rogers in a matter in which Mr Tendai Mashamhanda, was the other party.

The court acted upon the misrepresentation and allowed Chaza to file the papers. But Mr Mashamhanda managed to contact Mr Rogers in the United Kingdom, who denied giving Chaza any power of attorney and the matter was reported to the police.

The special power of attorney tendered by Chaza was then checked out by CID Forensic Laboratory for analysis, together with other documents that Mr Rogers signed, and it was allegedly discovered that the documents were not signed by the same person.

On the second count, it is alleged that on October 18, 2021 at the High Court in Harare, Chaza again allegedly tendered a fake special power of attorney from Mr Rogers in another case. Chaza is expected back in court today (Thursday).

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