Online Reporter
Mathew Masinge
HIGH Court Judge Justice Pisirayi Kwenda has set tomorrow as the date for the handing down of his judgment in an application in which fraud-accused business partners – Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu – are seeking referral to the Constitutional Court.
The duo was back in court yesterday where Justice Kwenda postponed the matter to tomorrow, indicating that he needed more time to finalise his ruling.
Mpofu and Chimombe are facing fraud charges involving US$7,7 million in the Presidential Goat Pass-on Scheme.
Some of the issues they seek referral to the Constitutional Court include the contentious issue regarding the defining of age restrictions for assessors in any criminal trial.
Chimombe and Mpofu also raised a concern over selective prosecution in which they claim the manner their bail was denied at the Magistrates’ Court was wrong.
They want the court to make a finding whether these issues raised do not infringe upon their rights and form a basis for a referral to the ConCourt before their fraud trial starts.
The State said Mpofu’s company Blackdeck was contracted to supply 632 001 goats and got paid US$1,6 billion, which was equivalent to US$7.7million, but only supplied 4 208 goats.
He allegedly misrepresented his company to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development.
The State said Chimombe’s company, Millytake Enterprise, lost the tender during the bidding process and was sub-contracted to supply the goats after Blackdeck won the contract.
