HARARE – Two former high-ranking officials from the Harare City Council have appeared in court facing charges of criminal abuse of office in connection with the alleged unlawful awarding of a US$465,290 tender to a company owned by controversial businessman Moses Mpofu in 2015.
Phillip Mabingo Pfukwa (75), the former Director of Works, and Josephine Ncube (62), the former Chamber Secretary, were brought before the Harare Regional Anti-Corruption Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
The charges stem from the awarding of a contract for the design and construction of biogas digesters and the installation of a 100KVA biogas generator for the Mbare Biogas Project.
The project was funded by a €350,500 grant secured by the City of Harare from the European Union (EU) in 2013.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe, established procurement procedures mandated a transparent tender process overseen by the Town Clerk and the Procurement Committee.
However, in March 2015, Pfukwa and Ncube allegedly bypassed these procedures after four bids were received. They are accused of unlawfully awarding the tender to Synlak Pvt Ltd, a company owned by Mpofu, despite the company reportedly failing to meet standard requirements.
The prosecution has alleged that Pfukwa and Ncube falsified internal memos and misrepresented Synlak’s eligibility to ensure the company was awarded the contract.
It is further alleged that in December 2015, Ncube fraudulently signed off the contract, enabling Synlak Pvt Ltd to receive the full payment of US$465,290, despite the company’s alleged failure to deliver on the project.
Following their court appearance, Pfukwa and Ncube were remanded out of custody to the 14th of May 2025. They are expected to be indicted to the High Court on that date for further proceedings.
Mpofu and his business ally Mike Chimombe are currently in prison facing charges of misappropriating millions from the Presidential Goat Pass-On Scheme.
Allegations of forgery and fraud were made against a duo, involving the falsification of compliance certificates from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) and the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) under the name Blackdeck Private Limited.
The allegedly fraudulent documents were submitted as part of a tender bid to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries, and Rural Development for a goat supply and delivery contract.
Investigations uncovered evidence that the QR code and reference number on the NSSA compliance certificate belonged to a different entity. Blackdeck (Pvt) Ltd had been deregistered from the NSSA system since January 2016.
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