Online Reporter
Peter Matika, [email protected]
THE case involving Bulawayo Deputy Mayor Edwin Ndlovu and Finance and Development Chairperson Councillor Mpumelelo Moyo, who face allegations of demanding a bribe to facilitate tender allocation from a contractor, is set to be heard tomorrow.
The duo is charged with bribery as defined in Section 170 of the Criminal Law Codification Act.
They appeared before Bulawayo Magistrate Mr Maxwell Ncube, with Ms Mufaro Ndirayire prosecuting.
The pair is represented by Mr Prince Butshe Dube of Mathonsi Law Chambers, who is representing Moyo, and Mr Zibusiso Ncube of Ncube and Partners, who represents Ndlovu.
According to court records, between October 10 and November 14 2024 in Bulawayo, Moyo, the first accused, and Ndlovu solicited a bribe of US$20 000 from Tsitsi Mapfumo, the co-ordinator of a Chinese company called Labenmon Investments (Private) Limited.
The bribe they allegedly demanded was claimed to be a reward for 20 councillors who facilitated and approved the allocation of 5,6 hectares of land to Labenmon for the construction of a cement mixing plant.
“The complainant (Mapfumo) managed to positively identify the accused persons. A copy of the list of 20 councillors, purportedly to be given the US$20 000, written by accused two (Ndlovu), two 10-dollar notes used for the trap recovered from accused one, and a tablet, which was used for communication and recovered from accused one, will be presented as evidence,” the court documents read.
Labenmon Investments initially made an unsuccessful application to the Bulawayo City Council for 10 hectares of land for a cement mixing plant.
The company resubmitted the application in April 2024 and was offered 5,6 hectares.
It is alleged that after Labenmon Investments received the offer letter, the accused persons approached Mapfumo, demanding a reward of US$20 000 in cash on behalf of the other 20 councillors for facilitating the approval.
The two were arrested by officers from the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc).
