Businessmen Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu have been convicted of fraud after using fake documents to win a US$7 million Presidential Goat Scheme tender, in one of the country’s most high-profile corruption cases in recent years.
The pair, who have spent more than a year in remand prison were found guilty by High Court Judge Justice Pisirayi Kwenda who ruled that both men knowingly used falsified company documents to secure the lucrative government contract under the Presidential Goat Pass-on Scheme.
Justice Kwenda said Mpofu shot himself in the foot by admitting that he had acted in his capacity as a company director and was directed to do so leaving no further proof needed by the State.
The judge criticised Mpofu for failing to call witnesses to support his defence, saying it affected his credibility.
Turning to Chimombe, the judge said the businessman’s claim that he had little involvement in the tender was not convincing adding that testimony from government officials showed he actively participated in meetings linked to the fraudulent deal.
The court heard that the two men used a deregistered company, Blackdeck Pvt Ltd to apply for the tender forging ZIMRA tax clearance and NSSA compliance certificates to make the company appear legitimate.
The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development subsequently paid Blackdeck US$7 million based on the falsified documents.
Investigations later revealed that the QR codes and references on the NSSA certificate belonged to a different firm, and that Blackdeck had been deregistered from the NSSA system in 2016.
Justice Kwenda noted that the pair could face up to 20 years in prison describing the offence as serious particularly because it involved public funds.
The court will sit for pre-sentencing on Wednesday next week, 31 October.
