HARARE – The High Court will rule on Monday on whether jailed Zanu PF linked businessmen Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe can appeal their US$7 million fraud convictions to the Supreme Court.
Mpofu and Chimombe were convicted of using forged documents to win a government livestock tender worth US$87.76 million to supply 632,001 goats, with the first of three payments set at US$26 million.
After the tender was awarded, the Ministry of Agriculture paid ZWL1.6 billion (about US$7.71 million) in two instalments in 2022, but by year-end only 4,208 goats worth US$331,445 had been delivered.
The duo were sentenced to 17- and 12-year prison terms, respectively with Chimombe’s legal team describing his 12 year term as “manifestly excessive” and inducing “a sense of shock.”
Mpofu, sentenced to 17 years, is challenging his conviction, with his lawyers arguing the verdict was illogical and that the evidence did not prove he had the intent to commit fraud.
The duo claim their legal troubles began after audios circulated online suggesting their former businessman partner Wicknell Chivayo bribed senior officials to win election-related tenders worth over US$100 million.
They allege that Chivayo and his allies, believing the pair leaked the recordings, orchestrated their arrest and denial of bail as “punishment.”
