Council boss granted bail

From Paul Mundandi in Zvishavane
ZVISHAVANE Town Council chairman Alluwis Zhou was yesterday granted US$50 bail together with Shabie Phiri when they jointly appeared before the Zvishavane magistrate Mr Story Rushambwa on one count of fraud involving stands.
Their lawyer Ms Patience Chigariro of Chigariro and Partners successfully applied for bail. The two were first arraigned before Zvishavane magistrate Mr Tavengwa Sengster on Monday who remanded them in custody until yesterday when they tested freedom. The MDC-T council chairman was granted free bail on the second count of fraud and will appear in court on the 30th of December this month. As part of their bail conditions the two were advised not to interfere with witnesses.
Zhou and Phiri are being charged with corruptly concealing from a principal interest in transaction as defined in Section 173(1) (a) of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act. It is the state case that in March this year he approached one of his aides Adolf Sibanda and promised him a residential stand which he had never applied for.
The accused person and the acting director of housing Shabie Phiri then hatched a plan to lie to the council housing committee that Sibanda was once offered a residential stand number 752 in Mandava suburb.
The residential stand number given does not exist but Sibanda was offered a replacement after the council housing committee considered the plight given by the accused and his counterpart Phiri.
Sibanda was then offered stand Number 1922 in place of 752.The offer later was delivered at his house on the 4th of June and he was later called to the office of a legal practitioner based in the town (name supplied) to sign an agreement of sale were the stand was now being sold to Newton Basera for US$5 000.
It is alleged that the accused was paid the money in cash and the agreement was signed and witnessed. He later paid Sibanda US$500 as a thank you for the transaction. Sibanda is a bodyguard to the Zvishavane Town Council chairman. On the second count he is charged with fraud as defined in Section 136 of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9:23. On the 14th of October 2011 the accused submitted a stock sheet claiming US$310 as expenses incurred during the course of the journey by repairing his motor vehicle.