Chimombe, Mpofu offer to compensate state in US$8m fraud, apologise to Mnangagwa
HARARE – Business partners Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe have apologised to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and indicated a willingness to compensate the government as they await sentencing on Monday in their US$7.7 million Presidential Goat Scheme fraud case.
The pair was recently convicted of defrauding the State through Blackdeck Livestock and Poultry Farming, a company the court found to be non-existent despite having secured an US$87 million contract to supply 85,000 goats. Only 4,000 were delivered.
During mitigation, Mpofu took responsibility for the botched programme and issued a public apology, saying he deeply regretted the collapse of the Presidential Goat Pass-On Scheme.
“I want to say to Zimbabweans I’m sorry… Apology was always in my mind, starting from the President,” he said.
Mpofu admitted that Blackdeck operated using falsified tax documents and conceded that proper scrutiny would have exposed the irregularities earlier. He, however, distanced himself from direct wrongdoing, maintaining that the company, not him personally, was at fault.
Asked if he was prepared to compensate the government, he said he had no personal funds but would comply if ordered by the court.
Chimombe’s lawyer, Ashiel Mugiya, presented a more explicit commitment, telling the court his client was ready to repay the Ministry of Agriculture.
He said Chimombe owns property and movable assets worth more than US$1 million, including a Borrowdale home valued at US$800,000, which could be used to help restore the lost funds.
Mugiya urged the court to take into account his client’s willingness to make amends, describing him as a first offender with substantial family responsibilities.
The prosecution dismissed the compensation offers as insincere.
Prosecutor Whisper Mabhaudhi argued that previous attempts to recover the money under the Money Laundering Act were met with resistance from the pair.
He urged the court to impose a stiff custodial sentence, saying the fraud was unprecedented and disadvantaged vulnerable communities.
“They stole from the poorest of the poor,” Mabhaudhi said. He warned that a lenient penalty would weaken public confidence in the justice system. He insisted that sentencing below the presumptive term would “be a betrayal of justice”.
Defence counsel countered that government oversight failures had contributed to the scandal.
Professor Lovemore Madhuku, representing Chimombe on instructions from Mugiya, argued that the Ministry of Agriculture’s monitoring mechanisms were inadequate, and suggested that Chimombe be barred from similar public projects rather than given a harsh sentence.
After hearing final arguments, the court deferred sentencing to Monday. The prosecution has proposed a sentence of up to 35 years, while the defence is seeking leniency, citing Mpofu’s apology and Chimombe’s readiness to compensate the state.
