Former Air Zimbabwe executives Peter Chikumba and Grace Pfumbidzayi are now free after the High Court allowed their appeals against conviction and seven-year jail terms imposed by a magistrate for allegedly swindling the airline of $10 million.
The two became free after 10 years of battling to quash the decision of the trial court which convicted and slapped them with imprisonment terms in 2014.
Chikumba, who was the airline’s chief executive, and former company secretary Pfumbidzai, were found guilty of criminal abuse of office. They have been out of custody on bail pending appeal.
This week, the High Court sitting as an appeals court granted the appeals by Chikumba and Pfumbidzai against both conviction and sentence.
The pair, through their legal counsel, had argued that they were wrongly convicted and that even if the convictions stood, the sentence was excessive, citing gross misdirection by the trial magistrate whom they accused of failing to assess all the evidence adduced in the trial.
It was their submission that the magistrate erred by concluding that auditor Bhudhama Chikamhi was a credible witness when he stood to benefit financially by testifying against the two.
After hearing submissions from both parties’ lawyers, Justice Pisirayi Kwenda and Justice Benjamin Chikowero unanimously agreed that there was merit in the appeal with the State also concurring and consenting to the reversal of conviction.
“Whereupon, after reading documents filed on record and hearing counsel, it is ordered by consent that the appeal be and is hereby allowed. The conviction is quashed,” said Justice Kwenda reading the operative part of their judgment.
Reasons for the judgment would be made available in due course.
Advocate Thabani Mpofu argued the appeal for Mr Chikumba while Mr Tapiwanashe Kujinga represented Pfumbidzayi.
Charges against Chikumba and Pfumbidzayi arose after an anomaly was discovered by former Air Zimbabwe board chairman Mr Ozias Bvute pertaining to amounts paid between April 2009 and April 2013 to a company called Navistar Insurance Brokers (Private) Limited in respect of aviation insurance premiums.
The two had also allegedly inflated aviation insurance premiums payments made to Colemont Reinsurance Brokers (Private) Limited and Reinsurance Brokers (Private) Limited, both United Kingdom-based companies.
The firm released €15 452,93 to Navistar, €10 607 859,22 to the two British companies, while they pocketed €5 895 695,49.
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