High Court Judge Justice Pisirayi Kwenda has scheduled tomorrow to deliver his ruling in the case involving fraud-accused business partners Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu, who are seeking to have their case referred to the Constitutional Court.
The pair appeared in court again yesterday, where Justice Kwenda postponed the case to allow more time to finalize his judgment.
Chimombe and Mpofu are facing fraud charges related to US$7.7 million in the Presidential Goat Pass-on Scheme.
They are requesting the Constitutional Court’s intervention on several issues, including the debate over age restrictions for assessors in criminal trials. Additionally, they argue that the denial of bail at the Magistrates’ Court was unfair and constitute selective prosecution.
The accused are asking the court to determine whether these concerns infringe upon their rights and if they justify a referral to the Constitutional Court before their fraud trial proceeds.
The State alleges that Mpofu’s company, Blackdeck, was contracted to supply 632,001 goats for the scheme, receiving US$1.6 billion (approximately US$7.7 million) in payment but only delivering 4,208 goats. It is claimed that Mpofu misrepresented his company to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development.
Meanwhile, Chimombe’s company, Millytake Enterprise, lost the initial tender but was subcontracted to supply the goats after Blackdeck secured the contract.
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