Online Reporter
Zvikomborero Parafini
TWO self-employed runners from Chirundu Border Post and a Zimbabwe Revenue Authority bonds revenue officer have appeared before the Beitbridge Magistrates’ Court facing charges arising from the alleged smuggling of 30 tonnes of clothing into Zimbabwe.
The accused are Basil Tawanda Gayihayi (36), Takudzwa Hamilton Nyikadzino (24) and Emmanuel Munyaradzi Charimari (36).
The trio was granted US$200 bail each and ordered to reside at their given addresses and to report once a week at Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) offices.
According to the State, on July 14, Gayihayi, acting in connivance with another person who is still at large, facilitated the importation of 140 bales of clothing from Tanzania through Chirundu Border Post using a Scania truck registered MV68MFGP towing trailer XCM614GP.
Prosecutors allege that after the consignment had been cleared on the Zambian side, Gayihayi and his accomplice prepared forged clearing documents falsely declaring that the truck was transporting 50 drums of honey weighing 22 000 kilogrammes destined for South Africa.
It is alleged that Gayihayi then instructed Nyikadzino to present the forged documents to ZIMRA officials at Chirundu Border Post, misrepresenting the truck’s cargo when it was allegedly carrying clothing destined for Harare.
The State alleges the forged documents were used to facilitate the clearance of the truck, enabling 140 bales of clothing weighing about 30 tonnes to enter Zimbabwe without payment of customs duty.
ZACC investigators later intercepted the truck in Chitungwiza Industrial Area, where the consignment was recovered.
Charimari, who was employed as a ZIMRA Bonds Revenue Officer stationed at the Chirundu southbound gate, faces a separate charge of criminal abuse of duty.
The prosecution alleges that while on duty on July 14, Charimari authorised the truck to pass through the border post without receiving the required documentation, verifying it in the ASYCUDA customs system or carrying out the mandatory clearance procedures.
It is further alleged that he knowingly failed to record the truck’s details in the prescribed SB1 or SB2 registers before allowing it to proceed, a conduct which the State says prejudiced ZIMRA of revenue.
