 |
| Wesley Kauma |
Tendai
Mbede/Blessed Mandaza
CHIREDZI – Chiredzi Regional Magistrate Judith
Zuyu has acquitted two Chiredzi Town Council executives, Consider Kubiku (Town
Planner) and Wesley Kauma (Engineer), who were dragged to court by the Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) on allegations of abuse of office, TellZim
News can reveal.
Kubiku and Kauma were arrested in June last
year and were released on $10 000 bail each.
The duo were facing four counts of
criminal abuse of office dating back to 2015 when Kubiku, who was the Acting
Housing Director, facilitated their acquisition of stands number 3609 and 3610
at low price of $500 which they did not pay.
Kubiku later sold his stand to Kauma,
with an agreement of sale being shown to the investigating officer, but never
paid anything again to the council as was required.
Kauma proceeded to construct buildings
without following proper council procedures.
During their defense case, Kauma who
was being represented by Charles Ndlovu of Ndlovu and Hwacha Law Chambers and
Kubiku who was being represented by Wellington Muzenda of Muzenda and Chitsama
Attorneys argued that they acquired the stands during a collective bargain
process where their debt was paid using stands.
Kauma even argued that his boss,
Charles Muchatukwa, acquired a luxurious Toyota Fortuner and a house during the
same collective bargain but was never arrested.
Giving her ruling, magistrate Zuyu said
the local authority did not fulfil what it had promised the two and still owes
the duo thousands of dollars.
Linda Sabeka, who was ZACC’s
investigating officer, alleged that the accounting system indicated that all
stands in question were never paid for while one of them, was only paid US$200
leaving a balance of US$800.
Sabeka said Kubiku had the duty to
ensure developmental control of stands in Chiredzi, to ensure that no illegal
developments were mushrooming and that building inspection fees were paid for
but he ignored because Kauma was his friend.
Prosecutor Noel Muranda represented the
state.
