Copper deal lands trio in dock

Panashe Machakaire Herald Reporter
The trial of Element 22 (Pvt) Limited represented by Tarisai Bera and two accomplices who are facing charges of defeating or obstructing the course of justice after allegedly producing fake documentation and information to police detectives, will continue next month.

Femina Masaire (31), Element 22 (Pvt) Limited represented by Tarisai Bera and Last Clifton Chivero (59) appeared before Harare Magistrate Ms Barbra Mateko, who deferred the trial to May 5 .

The State witness — Detective Assistant Mr Kumbulani Maposa, of CID Vehicle Theft Squad — told the court that Masaire and Element 22 (Pvt) Ltd brought a trial mining offer letter fraudulently issued by Lawrence Gondo, an employee of the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation as evidence.

Prosecutor Mr Peter Kachirika alleges that sometime in October 2018, Masaire who is not licensed to deal in copper according to the Copper Control Act, purchased 59 tonnes of copper ore from Kelvin Tembo, a registered copper ore miner, at Old Inyati Mine in Headlands. Masaire posed as a registered and licensed copper dealer and produced a borrowed copper dealer’s licence belonging to Element 22 (Pvt) Ltd represented by Bera.

Masaire paid $2 000 to Tembo and an additional $45 000 through Zipit to his Steward Bank account.

The copper ore was weighed and loaded into two South African trucks on Masaire’s instructions and despatched them to Beitbridge without documentation.

It is alleged the trucks were intercepted and impounded by police officers at Featherstone along the Harare-Masvingo Road and the drivers — Kirsten Chirenje and Mtileni Piet — arrested for failing to give a satisfactory account for the 59 tonnes of copper ore.

To that end, the trio hatched a plan to secure the release of the two drivers.

Chivero printed counterfeit invoices on his company’s letterhead and attached them to Element 22 (Pvt) Ltd copper dealer’s permit misrepresenting that Chivero’s company had acquired the impounded 59 tonnes of copper ore from the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation’s Mhangura Mine and sold it to Element 22 (Pvt) Ltd.

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