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Fidelis Munyoro-Chief Court Reporter

THE much anticipated high-profile corruption trial of Harare businessmen Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe involving a sum of US$7,7 million allegedly siphoned from the Presidential Goat Pass-On Scheme was yesterday adjourned to today.

The defence team sought the postponement, saying it was not ready for trial and wanted the prosecution to furnish it with more documents of the case to craft their defences.

Justice Pisirayi Kwenda, who is sitting with two assessors, allowed the postponement, but warned both the defence counsel and prosecution to come to court prepared for trial.

“This court does not want to be sucked into the parties’ preparations for trial,” he said.

“It is not the business of the court. You must have sorted your issues before coming here.”

The State did not oppose the application for postponement.

Advocate Garikayi Sithole, instructed by Mr Tapson Dzvetero, is now representing Mpofu while Professor Lovemore Madhuku, instructed by Mr Ashley Mugiya, is now acting for Chimombe.

Both lawyers have indicated that their clients will raise constitutional issues after pleading to the charges. And they are seeking to ventilate their constitutional issues by leading evidence from certain witnesses involved in the case, and would want assistance from the State to have them summoned to court to give evidence.

Charges against the two arose after they allegedly forged a ZIMRA tax clearance certificate and a NSSA compliance certificate in the name of Blackdeck Private Limited and attached them in a bidding document which they submitted to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development for a tender for the supply and delivery of goats for the Presidential Goat Pass-on Scheme.

They misrepresented that the company was in full compliance with ZIMRA and NSSA requirements. However, later investigations showed that the QR code and the reference on the NSSA compliance certificate were issued to a different company, and that Blackdeck (Pvt) Ltd was deregistered from the NSSA system in January 2016.

Further, investigations revealed that Blackdeck (Pvt) Ltd was not issued with a ZIMRA tax clearance certificate for 2021 and that the QR code on the forged tax clearance certificate belonged to a different company.

Acting on the misrepresentation on November 16, 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture entered into a contract  with Blackdeck Livestock and Poultry Farming for the supply and delivery of 632 001 goats for the Presidential Goats Pass-on Scheme valued at US$87 757 168.

On the contract, Blackdeck Livestock and Poultry Farming was represented by Mpofu and Tinashe Chimombe, who was his witness. The Ministry contracted Blackdeck (Pvt) on November 30 2021 and transferred Z$901 294 200 on April 21 2022 and Z$698 705 800 on 29 June 29 2022.

The total amount was Z$1,6 billion, which was equivalent to US$7 712 197.

Following delays in the delivery of the goats, Ministry officials made several engagements with Chimombe and Mpofu, who misrepresented that they had mobilised 32 500 goats across the provinces which were ready to be distributed to the beneficiaries.

However, a verification process revealed that the two only had 3 713 goats in their holding sites, and so the Ministry consequently cancelled the contract on 29 August 2022. The accused persons only supplied 4 208 goats valued at US$331 445 and went on to convert the remaining US$7 380 751 to their personal use.