Harare | The trial of gospel music star Ivy Kombo and her husband, Admire Kasi who allegedly fraudulently acquired fake certificates to practise law in Zimbabwe after obtaining Bachelor of Laws degrees in England, is set for November 28.
The couple is being charged with fraud and perjury and is currently out of custody on US$300 bail each.
Prosecutor Mr. Lancelot Mutsokoti advised the court was now ready to commence trial and will merge their docket with that of the main suspect in the whole scam, Huggins Duri.
Mr Mutsokoti alleged that in 2013, the couple graduated from the University of Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, with Bachelor of Laws degrees.
But as with all those graduating from foreign law schools, the couple had to obtain a certificate of completion from the Council for Legal Education by writing and passing conversion examinations so they could practise law in Zimbabwe.
According to the state, following a complaint by the finance and administration manager for the council, Mr Joe Zimba, in 2021, Kombo approached Shorai Tafadzwa Mupunga, a CLE official, to assist her in registering and writing these conversion examinations.
Mupunga advised Kombo that she would engage Duri, the suspended secretary for CLE, who is already on remand on related cases.
The court heard that sometime in 2022, Mupunga approached Duri who said he would issue conversion certificates without them writing the conversion examinations if they paid US$100.
They allegedly paid the money through Mupunga who handed it over to Duri who in turn “certified” that the two had written and passed eight conversion subjects in statute law, evidence, bookkeeping, civil law practise duties and functions, ethics for legal practitioners, civil practise and procedure, Common Law 1, and Common Law 2.
Duri then handed over the certificates to Mupunga who in turn gave them to Kombo and her husband.
The two were arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commision investigation team.
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