Police claim releasing Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu will spark protests

HARARE – Police investigators claim releasing fraud-accused businessmen Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu on bail would spark protests on the streets of Zimbabwe.

Chimombe tumbled and fell on the concrete as he disembarked from a Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) truck on Monday, as an inquest into his business dealings, alongside fellow ruling party linked tenderprenuer Mpofu, continued.

Chimombe and Mpofu are accused of defrauding the government of over US$7 million in a botched Presidential Goat Scheme. They are currently locked up after the National Prosecuting Authority opposed their bail.

However, before Chimombe even got to the dock, he provided a great spectacle after he fell head-first from a truck used to deliver prisoners outside the Harare Magistrates Court.

Meanwhile, in court, the first witness called by the state, Ms Gamuchirai Zimunhu, who is part of the ZACC investigating team, said that the duo of Mpofu and Chimombe needed to stay in prison because their actions sabotaged the economic programmes rolled by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The second investigating officer, Mr Henry Chapwanya, described the pair as a flight risk, highlighting the fact that law enforcement officers needed to regard them as saboteurs that need to be dealt with uncompromisingly.

“The actions by both derailed his Excellency’s vision to attain a middle-income economy. These type of economic saboteurs need to be dealt with using an iron fist,” he said.

Mr Chapwanya added that there could be a public outcry if the duo was released.

“My fear is with the reaction of the public. If you look on social media people are very angry. If released on bail, there will be protests on the streets, which will undermine peace and security in the nation as the country is expecting to host the Sadc summit in the next few weeks.”