daniel chigunwe
Fidelis Munyoro
Chief Court Reporter
THE High Court has reserved its ruling on a fresh bail application filed by business partners Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu who are embroiled in a scandal surrounding the Presidential Goat Pass-On Scheme.
The court’s decision follows a two-day hearing during which Justice Pisirayi Kwenda heard submissions from both the defence and the prosecution.
The judge emphasised the need for sufficient time to thoroughly examine the arguments before rendering an appropriate judgment. He will deliver his ruling on January 15.
In their submissions, the defence urged the court to treat the bail application as a fresh matter, arguing that the prosecution had failed to establish any compelling grounds to justify continued detention.
Led by Professor Lovemore Madhuku and Advocate Tapson Dzvetero, the defence asserted that the State bore the burden of proving why bail should not be granted.
Prof Madhuku said: “The State has not placed before the court any compelling reasons as required by the law. We are unable to discern the State’s position from the document it presented, which is riddled with contradictions. There has been no substantive response to this specific application.”
Conversely, the prosecution, represented by Mr Whisper Mabhaudhi, contended that the matter had already been resolved through an earlier ruling on bail.
Mr Mabhaudhi maintained that there were no new circumstances warranting a fresh application, emphasising that the accused remained a flight risk, particularly as their case had taken a turn for the worse.
“The accused have failed to demonstrate any changed circumstances that would justify the relief they seek, even on a balance of probabilities,” he argued.
“The existing judgment of this court cannot simply be disregarded. The genuine fear that the accused may abscond persists.”
After considering the arguments from both sides, Justice Kwenda indicated that he would require time to deliberate on the matter, adding that his ruling would be delivered on January 15.
Chimombe and Mpofu face allegations of defrauding the Presidential Goat Pass-On Scheme of US$7.7 million.
Their legal troubles have been marked by a series of contentious proceedings, including a failed attempt last month to escalate the matter to the Constitutional Court.
That application, which sought to challenge their arrest, detention, and pre-trial processes on grounds of alleged constitutional violations, was dismissed by Justice Kwenda.
He characterised their effort as a calculated manoeuvre to delay the legal process, underscoring the court’s intolerance for procedural tactics aimed at frustrating the course of justice.
The ruling not only dashed their hopes of higher court intervention, but also signalled the Judiciary’s growing impatience with such attempts to derail the trial.
This dismissal added yet another chapter to a legal saga.
Initially scheduled for October last year, the trial was postponed due to the defence’s unsuccessful bid to take the matter to the Constitutional Court.
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