Chimombe
also
said
he
holds
no
grudge
against
Wicknell
Chivayo
and
plans
to
“hug”
him
when
he
is
finally
released
from
prison.
Chimombe
was
recently
sentenced
to
12
years
behind
bars
over
a
case
linked
to
a
US$87
million
Presidential
goat
scheme
tender.
He
is
serving
his
sentence
at
Chikurubi
Maximum
Security
Prison
alongside
his
friend
and
business
partner,
Moses
Mpofu.
During
an
open
family
week
at
the
prison,
Chimombe
spoke
to NewsDay’s Blessed
Mhlanga.
He
revealed
that
he
has
instructed
his
lawyers
to
take
the
High
Court’s
judgment
to
the
Supreme
Court
on
appeal.
Said
Chimombe:
“Honestly,
I
thought
my
lawyers
had
done
enough
to
secure
an
acquittal
for
me
and
even
my
friend;
we
were
confident
that
the
courts
would
see
that
our
hands
were
clean
and
that
there
was
a
commitment
on
the
part
of
Blackdeck
Private
Limited
to
fulfil
all
the
conditions
of
the
contract.“I
have
respect
for
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
and
would
never
steal
money
meant
to
ensure
that
his
Vision
2030
of
an
upper-middle-class
economy
is
achieved.“It
is
for
this
reason
that
I
have
instructed
my
lawyers
to
approach
the
Supreme
Court
to
appeal
the
High
Court
judgment.“I
strongly
believe
a
different
court
will
arrive
at
a
different
ruling.
So
my
life
is
just
starting,
not
ending.“My
lawyers
have
cautioned
me
against
speaking
about
the
merits
of
the
appeal,
so
I
will
not
explain
why
I
feel
we
have
a
strong
case.“I
am,
however,
convinced
that
the
Judiciary
will
exercise
its
mind
fairly
when
the
appeal
is
heard.“I
will
also
not
comment
on
the
allegations
that
this
matter
is
political
or
not,
but
if
we
choose
that
path,
how
come
people
like
Job
Sikhala,
who
are
opposition
political
players,
were
acquitted?
I
believe
that
justice
will
be
delivered,
albeit
slowly.
“
Chimombe
said
his
love
for
ZANU
PF
has
not
faded,
even
amid
claims
that
party
colleagues
played
a
role
in
his
arrest
and
conviction. He
said:
“To
the
contrary,
I
remain
Zanu
PF
to
the
core
—
as
regards
my
colleagues,
it
has
taken
two
years
of
reflection,
soul
searching,
recalibration
and
contrition,
and
on
a
balance
of
scales,
one
would
say
‘let
bygones
be
bygones’.“I
have
a
whole
future
ahead
of
me
beckoning,
a
family
waiting,
party
business
stalled,
and
a
constituency
orphaned
for
two
years
also
waiting
in
the
background.“When
I
return,
I
will
do
so
in
service
to
my
country;
that’s
what
matters,
lessons
learnt.“You
must
also
know
that
prison
itself
is
a
constituency
and
while
I
wait
for
my
appeal,
we
have
started
work
to
push
the
agenda
of
nation-building
and
the
President’s
vision.”
Asked
if
he
could
make
peace
with
Chivayo,
who
celebrated
his
imprisonment,
Chimombe
said
he
intends
to
let
bygones
be
bygones. He
said:
“The
case
for
which
I
have
been
convicted
has
nothing
to
do
with
Wicknell
Chivayo,
and
I
do
not
intend
to
drag
him
into
a
matter
that
has
nothing
to
do
with
him.“Regarding
our
fallout,
lessons
were
learnt
and
we
picked
up
from
there.
The
past
two
years
were
enough
healing
time
for
me.“We
will
obviously
consider
each
other
brothers
and
will
opt
for
a
fresh
start,
inevitably.“We
will
hug
again
as
brothers
in
ZANU
PF,
and
there
are
no
permanent
enemies
in
politics;
in
fact,
we
are
united
in
purpose
for
Vision
2030
going
forward.”