Bid to bribe judge backfires for ex-chamber secretary
By Tendai Rupapa
Former Chitungwiza Municipality chamber secretary Ms Priccilar Vengesai allegedly tried to bribe a High Court judge with an undisclosed amount of money.
Justice Felistus Chatukuta recorded the conversation before reporting the matter to the police.
Justice Chatukuta had presided over a case involving Avondale Holdings (Pvt) Ltd and TM Supermarkets (Pvt) Ltd and ruled in favour of Avondale Holdings.
Vengesai (37) then approached Justice Chatukuta in her chambers.
She offered her cash which was in an envelope saying it was a token of appreciation from Avondale Holdings (Pvt) Ltd.
The High Court Judge is said to have turned down the offer.
A docket was prepared against Vengesai who was charged with bribery before it was taken to the magistrate’s court for vetting and setting of a trial date.
Vengesai, who was out of custody, got information that Prosecutor Mr Michael Reza was the one dealing with her case.
She then approached him in his office and again offered him $1 000 for him to decline prosecution, the court heard.
As she was offering him the money, Mr Reza started recording the conversation before alerting the police who rushed to his office and allegedly caught Vengesai red handed while handing over the cash to Mr Reza.
For trying to bribe Mr Reza, Vengesai was denied bail by magistrate Ms Victoria Mashamba who ruled that she had the propensity to commit similar offences.
She was then remanded in custody pending trial.
However, the State was still to set a trial date for the other case in which she sought to bribe Justice Chatukuta.
It is the State’s case that on May 28 2014, Justice Chatukuta went to Chitungwiza Municipality where she wanted to process her relative’s cession papers.
She approached Vengesai for assistance and the pair exchanged numbers.
The following day Vengesai sent a text message to Justice Chatukuta requesting to see her.
She later booked an appointment on June 26 before proceeding to Justice’s Chatukuta’s chambers.
Vengesai, the State alleged, told Justice Chatukuta that she had been sent by the owners of Avondale Holdings (Pvt) Ltd to deliver a token of appreciation for the favourable judgment.
She took a khaki envelope from her hand bag which had cash and tried to hand it over to Justice Chatukuta.
Justice Chatukuta refused to accept the cash and expressed her displeasure about Vengesai’s conduct.
She then recorded their conversation before making a report to the police, it is alleged. The Herald
