CAPS chair turns to Constitutional Court

Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Court Reporter
Caps Holdings chairman and FCA Motors owner Fredrick Charles Mutanda has filed his heads of argument at the Constitutional Court in a matter in which he is challenging the constitutionality of his prosecution on fraud charges.
Mutanda and his alleged accomplice Justin Majaka are facing charges of fraud involving more than US$26 million. They are accused of illegally exporting CAPS Pharmaceuticals’ intellectual property rights to CAPS International Johannesburg.
Mutanda argues that his constitutional right to a fair trial within a reasonable time has been infringed upon.

He applied for his case to be referred to the Constitutional Court but a Harare magistrate threw the application away on the basis that it was frivolous and vexatious. That prompted him to directly approach the Constitutional Court, which is permissible at law under the circumstances.

In the heads of argument filed at the Constitutional Court last week, Mutanda argues that the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has no powers to arrest him.

Mr Mutanda argues that the ZACC investigators simply arrested him in order to get an opportunity to investigate, which he feels was unconstitutional. According to the heads of argument, the trial is also meant to be another investigating tool, which amounts to an unfair trial and is in breach of the Constitution.

Mr Mutanda also argues that the ZAAC investigators deliberately lied to the bail court that he had a wife in Spain and that he was planning to relocate to that country, with the intention to deprive him of his liberty.

According to the State, sometime in August 2011 Mutanda instructed Majaka to apply to the Medicines Control Authority of Zimbabwe (MCAZ), for a change of principal for 50 drug formulae (dossiers) from CAPS Rallies, Harare to CAPS International, Johannesburg.

It is alleged that in October 2011, MCAZ registered the 50 dossiers with CAPS International South Africa as the new principal and owners, the effect of which ownership of the drug formulae shifted from Zimbabwe to South Africa.