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“They stole from the poorest of the poor. A non-custodial sentence would not even amount to a slap on the wrist.”He urged a starting point of 20 years’ imprisonment, saying the State is pushing for up to 35 years.
“If these two get less, then people jailed for stealing US$10 000 should walk free today,” Mabhaudhi said, citing the 19-year sentence handed to former prosecutor Pardon Dziva.
Businessmen Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu will be sentenced on Monday after being convicted of defrauding the government of US$7.7 million in the infamous Presidential Goat Scheme, in a case the State has branded “theft from the poorest of the poor”.
The pair, through their shell company Blackdeck, won a US$87 million tender to supply 85,000 goats to rural communities under the Presidential Climate-Proofed Agriculture Scheme.
Only 4,000 goats were ever delivered – less than 5 % of the contract – while the duo pocketed millions in advance payments.
In a dramatic mitigation hearing on Wednesday, Moses Mpofu tearfully apologised to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the nation.
“I want to apologise to Zimbabwe and to His Excellency the President. I am sorry. The goat deal did not go as planned. An apology has always been on my mind, starting with the President,” Mpofu told Justice Pisirayi Kwenda.
He admitted Blackdeck used fake ZIMRA tax clearance certificates and conceded the company conducted no proper due diligence, but insisted: “It was Blackdeck that did it, not me personally.”
Co-accused Mike Chimombe, through his lawyer Ashiel Mugiya, offered immediate restitution, revealing he owns assets worth over US$1 million, including an US$800 000 Borrowdale mansion, luxury vehicles and farms that could be liquidated to repay the State.
Prosecutor Whisper Mabhaudhi rejected the remorse as too late, telling the court:
“They stole from the poorest of the poor. A non-custodial sentence would not even amount to a slap on the wrist.”He urged a starting point of 20 years’ imprisonment, saying the State is pushing for up to 35 years.
“If these two get less, then people jailed for stealing US$10 000 should walk free today,” Mabhaudhi said, citing the 19-year sentence handed to former prosecutor Pardon Dziva.
The prosecutor accused the duo of frustrating the trial with 18 constitutional referrals and personal attacks on the bench, including claims the judge was “too old”.
Defence counsel Professor Lovemore Madhuku countered that the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development was equally culpable for releasing millions without proper verification or checks and balances.
Sentencing was postponed to Monday, 8 December 2025.
The two men, who have been in custody since their conviction last month, now face the prospect of spending more than three decades behind bars in a case that has become the starkest symbol yet of how public funds meant for vulnerable rural farmers were diverted into private pockets.
