The State has formally withdrawn fraud charges against businessmen Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe in a case involving a controversial City of Harare lighting tender.
The development comes just as trial proceedings were scheduled to commence.
The two, who have been held on remand for over 11 months, had faced allegations of fraudulently acquiring a public lighting contract from the Harare City Council. However, prosecutors on Monday filed a notice of withdrawal before plea, effectively bringing the matter to a halt.
State Withdraws Fraud Case Against Mpofu and Chimombe as Trial Was Set to Begin
Despite this reprieve, both men remain entangled in other legal troubles. Chimombe, a ZANU PF Central Committee member, still faces a pending charge over the alleged fraudulent awarding of a US$87 million government goat supply tender. Meanwhile, Mpofu is implicated not only in the same goat scandal but also in a separate case involving a bio-gas deal with the Harare City Council.
Sources close to the legal proceedings say the so-called “goat case,” which is currently before Justice Kwenda, may also be on the verge of collapse due to reported evidentiary weaknesses and procedural missteps.
The State has not provided detailed reasons for the sudden withdrawal in the lighting tender matter, but legal analysts note the case has long been plagued by delays and inconsistencies.
As pressure mounts over the handling of high-profile corruption cases, the release of Mpofu and Chimombe on this charge is likely to reignite debate over selective prosecution and the credibility of Zimbabwe’s justice system.
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