daniel chigunwe
Mathew Masinge
BUSINESSMEN Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu are likely to face a 20-year jail term if convicted of the fraud that has left them incarcerated in remand prison for more than six months.
The duo’s presumptive sentence will also be aggravated if the State manages to prove that the duo misused public funds.
Chimombe and Mpofu, who pleaded not guilty to defrauding the Government of US$7 million, were denied bail by Justice Pisirayi Kwenda after they had cited changed circumstances.
Despite their spirited show to try and get out of remand custody, Justice Kwenda ruled that the two have the means to flee and abscond their trial.
Justice Kwenda said two compelling reasons to deny them bail, initially raised at the magistrates’ court, still persisted.
“I, therefore, find that two of the compelling reasons found by the magistrate, which are a likelihood that Chimombe and Mpofu might not stand trial or are likely to interfere with State witnesses, still persist.
“As a result, their application for bail may not succeed.
“I therefore dismiss it,” ruled Justice Kwenda.
Justice Kwenda added:
“All bail matters are urgent but we took two full days arguing on the merits whether the two should be granted bail on changed circumstances or not.
“There were no compelling reasons or sound evidence to warrant the changed circumstances, the lead counsel, Mr Dzvetero, failed to convince me that Chimombe and Mpofu are true candidates for bail.”
The judge deferred the matter to February 10 for trial continuation.
“If approached in earnest, this trial can be concluded in five days and we hope to do so when we return in February.
“They gave a brave show of resistance when the trial began on October 1 and I hold nothing against them because they were exercising their Constitutional rights with the side shows,” ruled the judge.
State prosecutors had argued that compelling reasons to deny both Chimombe and Mpofu had been aggravated after the businessmen pleaded not guilty to the charge and refused to read out their defence outline.
