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Tendai Rupapa Senior Court Reporter
Grain Marketing Board’s Cleveland depot manager Lillian Mudhara and her assistant allegedly connived with a Zanu-PF councillor to steal 500 bags of fertiliser meant for Goromonzi farmers under the Presidential Input Scheme.
They allegedly diverted the US$16 000 worth of fertilizer and sold it to dealers in Harare. Mudhara is still at large, while her assistant Godfrey Mabasa (40), an AREX officer Mark Matipano (45) and councillor for ward 5 in Chinamhora Paradzai Partson Chogugudza (33) appeared in court yesterday charged with theft of trust property. The trio appeared before Mr Tendai Mahwe who remanded them to April 3 on US$100 bail each.

As part of their bail conditions, they were ordered to report twice a week to the police, not to visit the GMB depot in Msasa and not to interfere with State witnesses.

Prosecutor Miss Sharon Mashavira told the court that they were in charge of distributing farm inputs under the presidential farming input scheme and allegedly connived with Mudhara and sold the 500 bags of fertilizer to dealers in Mbare.

When the intended beneficiaries failed to access the fertilizer, a report was made to the police and investigations were conducted, the court heard.

On March 14, the investigating officer went to the Central Vehicle Registry to establish the ownership of the vehicle that had been used to ferry the fertiliser from GMB.

Investigations revealed that the truck belonged to Fanewell Moyo of Chegutu.

When the police tracked him down, Moyo disclosed that he had been instructed to deliver the fertiliser to an Agro chemical shop in Harare.

The police went to the shop where they recovered four 50kg bags of ammonium nitrate fertiliser from Thompson Hove who had allegedly received 300 bags from the trio. They then proceeded to Musanhi hardware shop in Mbare where they recovered 14 bags from Tichaona Simbanegavi who had bought a total of 200 bags, it is alleged.

The fertiliser recovered is valued at US$576, out of a possible US$16 000.