HARARE
–
The
National
Prosecuting
Authority
on
Wednesday
withdrew
corruption
charges
against
business
partners
Moses
Mpofu
and
Mike
Chimombe,
who
were
accused
of
defrauding
the
City
of
Harare
in
a
US$9
million
tender
to
supply
and
install
streetlights.
The
matter
was
withdrawn
before
plea
when
the
duo
appeared
before
Justice
Benjamin
Chikowero
of
the
Harare
High
Court
for
the
commencement
of
their
trial.
Whisper
Mabhaudhi,
for
the
National
Prosecuting
Authority,
did
not
give
reasons
for
the
withdrawal.
Mpofu
and
Chimombe
remain
on
trial
in
a
separate
matter
in
which
they
are
accused
of
defrauding
the
ministry
of
agriculture
in
a
scheme
to
supply
goats.
“The
withdrawal
of
the
charges
by
the
state
is
a
welcome
development,”
Mpofu’s
lawyer
Tapson
Dzvetero
said
outside
court.
“Our
clients
are
on
the
record
regarding
the
weakness
of
the
state
case
and
that
the
charges
they
are
facing
are
trumped
up,
baseless
and
unfounded.
“They
have
no
case
to
answer.
It
is
only
unfortunate
that
such
withdrawal
happens
after
all
this
long
and
after
the
long
pre-trial
incarceration
for
so
long.”
Chimombe’s
lawyer
Ashiel
Mugiya
added:
“We
had
prepared
and
submitted
our
defence
outlines.
I’m
certain
the
state
just
realised
that
its
case
against
our
clients
was
too
weak.”
Last
year
Chimombe
took
the
state
to
task
challenging
the
NPA
to
prove
how
he
is
linked
to
the
streetlights
tender.
His
challenge
was
however
thrown
out
by
magistrate
Dennis
Mangosi.
Mpofu
was
the
main
suspect
in
the
alleged
crime.
The
two
were
arrested
by
officers
from
the
Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption
Commission
(ZACC)
at
a
time
they
were
already
languishing
in
remand
prison
following
their
arrest
over
the
$7
million
goat
supply
tender.
Chimombe
argued
that
he
was
neither
an
employee
nor
director
of
Juluka
Enndo
Joint
Venture,
the
company
at
the
centre
of
the
deal.
The
prosecution
was
alleging
that
the
business
partners
criminally
misrepresented
facts
when
they
submitted
their
list
of
previous
works
for
consideration
for
the
tender.