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Court Reporter
INVESTIGATIONS into fraud allegations against suspended Deputy Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Douglas Karoro, in which he is accused of misappropriating US$70 330 worth of inputs under the Presidential Inputs Scheme, are almost complete, according to the State.

Karoro is jointly appearing with Jeremy Phiri, Dean Dzimunya, Lovemore Ngowe and Mugove Ben Chidamba, on fraud charges. They allegedly misappropriated inputs that were set to benefit farmers in Mbire Constituency, Mashonaland Central.

Yesterday, prosecutor Mr Kennedy Madekutsikwa told Harare regional magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje that the State was expecting to furnish the five with a trial date when they return to court on August 19.

Karoro and his accomplices, through their lawyers Mr Admire Rubaya, Mr Batanai Pesanai and Mr Lucky Dube, consented to the postponement to August 19 to allow them to be given the trial date.

It is the State’s case that in April this year, Karoro approached Phiri and told him that he was looking for buyers of 700 bags of Compound D fertiliser at US$16 each and in a complicated set of deals, 700 bags were sold to Mr Widdorn Chiodza who paid US$10 700, collected his bags from Ngowe who was then GMB Mushumbi depot manager, with the dispatch vouchers in Karoro’s name.

Chiodza declined to return the bags when the deal soured but Zimunya and Karoro allegedly then engaged Chidamba to help and he managed to get back 400 bags and refunded US$6 400. These bags were taken allegedly to GMB Aspindale to be swapped for ammonium nitrate but Karoro allegedly had to organise the swop after Aspindale refused to accept this on the grounds that documentation was inadequate. Another 300 bags were bought in Harare and were also swapped.

Both shipments were supposed to go to Mushumbi depot but the first 400 bags never arrived and it was allegedly discovered that they had gone back to Chidamba and Karoro had to go to “Kuma Banana” in Mbare where he bought 200 bags to be taken to Aspindale depot.

Meanwhile, Chidamba, now looking for another 200 bags, bought 69 bags of cotton calcium ammonium nitrate and 132 bags of calcium ammonium nitrate in Dzivarasekwa, which were then transported back to GMB Aspindale in the presence of Karoro.

The State alleges that the stolen fertilisers were worth US$27 300 and a batch of 501 suspected fake bags of fertiliser were recovered.

On March 7, Ngowe allegedly received 30 050 tonnes of seed maize worth US$18 030 meant for the Presidential Inputs Programme to benefit Mbire Constituency but connived with Karoro so the two converted the seed to their own use.

On March 23, Karoro allegedly received 5 000 vegetable combo kits from Valley Seeds (Private) Limited, which were supposed to be handed over to GMB Mushumbi under the Presidential Inputs Programme.

Karoro allegedly connived with Ngowe and they converted the seed to their own use.