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Crime Reporter

FRESH investigations have been launched to ascertain the authenticity of an affidavit and a video that was recently produced in court in a case in which in which a legal clerk with Tendai Biti Law Chambers is facing two fresh counts of fraud.

The legal clerk, Constantine Chaza, is being accused in one of the counts of tendering a fake special power of attorney from Eliot Rogers.

However, an affidavit and a video were then produced in court, and also circulated on social media. In the video a person identifying himself as Elliot Rodgers confirmed that he was the author of the power of attorney that was submitted by Chaza, and if the court accepts this then that is the end of the charge.

But there are also reports that Mr Rogers denied giving any power of attorney.

In the count, it is alleged that on February 26, 2020 at the High Court in Harare, Chaza tendered a special power of attorney from Eliot Rogers in the matter in which the complainant, Tendai Mashamhanda, was the other party. The court allowed Chaza to file the papers, as is routine in these matters.

But Mr Mashamhanda managed to contact Rogers in the United Kingdom and he allegedly denied giving Chaza any power of attorney and the matter was reported to the police. They in turn used the CID Forensic Laboratory to analyse that document and compare it with other documents signed by Eliot Rogers and the allegedly concluded 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 special power of attorney from Mr Rogers in another case. The complainant this time, Piwayi Chiutsi, noted that the signature on the special power of attorney dated September 27 2015 looked different from the signature by Mr Rogers on an affidavit done on October 7 2014 and a report was made to the police,

The finding of the investigations was that the two signatures were not authored by the same person. Chaza is on $5 000 bail on another matter involving perjury charges after allegedly filing a false statement under oath at the High Court.

Last month, Harare magistrate Mrs Munashe Chibanda also dismissed an application for exception filed by Chazawho argued that the fraud charges outlined by the State did not constitute an offence.

In dismissing the application Mrs Chibanda said Chaza’s application was marred by issues that could be tried.

The matter was then postponed for trial.