HARARE regional magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa has granted businessman Moses Mpofu’s wife Nobukhosi and his brother Vusumuzi James US$800 each after being charged in a botched US$415 000 Mbare biogas digester project.
Mpofu’s bail was, however, opposed by the State.
The three were charged together with their company Synlak Private Limited.
They were remanded to June 20 for routine remand.
It is the State’s case that sometime in 2015, the City of Harare received a grant from the European Union for the designing and construction of biogas digesters and a 100kVA generator.
The local authority awarded the tender to Synlak (Pvt) Ltd, a company co-owned by Moses, who is in remand for an unrelated charge.
Investigations proved that Synlak (Pvt) Ltd secured the contract through misrepresentation, falsely claiming to be authorised resellers of Camda New Energy Technology Co Ltd, a key requirement under the tender conditions.
The accused, in collusion with City of Harare officials ex-director of works Phillip Pfukwa and former chamber secretary Josephine Ncube, both already in remand on related charges, allegedly manipulated payment processes to receive funds before completing the project.
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The funds were deposited into Synlak’s CABS and BancABC bank accounts, from which Vusumuzi and Nobukhosi, as signatories, made cash withdrawals.
The City of Harare, represented by acting town clerk Phakamile Mabhena Moyo, reported the matter to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, leading to the arrests.
