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Senior Court Reporter 

THE judgment in the trial of former Public Service Minister Petronella Kagonye who is accused of stealing computers meant for schools in Goromonzi South constituency was yesterday deferred to next week as the trial magistrate was not available.

Harare regional magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje set the matter for June 8 for the judgment after the trial magistrate Mrs Vongai Guwuriro was not available to deliver the judgment.

Kagonye is charged with theft.

She was put to her defence case to explain herself over the allegations where she denied any wrong doing claiming that she donated the laptops she received to selected individuals in the constituency.

Kagonye invited witness to testify in her corner, with some of them taking the laptops to the court to prove that they had received the donations from the ex-minister.

Her allegations arose after she wrote a letter to the then minister of ICT, Postal and Courier Services Supa Mandiwanzira seeking computers for schools in Goromonzi South. During trial, Kagonye denied the allegations saying her arrest was orchestrated by her political adversaries, who were plotting her political downfall.

Kagonye, to cement her sentiments, called one of the political heavyweights in Mashonaland East, Cde Rogers Pote to testify as a defence witness.

Pote told the court that Kagonye’s arrest was as a result of her political rivals saying he even sat in some meetings where her downfall was being plotted.

Allegations against Kagonye were that she wrote to then ICT Minister Mandiwanzira in 2018 and he in turn wrote to Potraz asking that they facilitate a donation of computers through the e-learning project to the schools.

Twenty computers were then allegedly donated and were said to have been collected by Kagonye’s brother, Evans, on her behalf. It is said that Potraz made follow-ups on the donation and Kagonye failed to account for the computers.