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Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Reporter
The High Court yesterday reserved judgment on an application for bail pending appeal by jailed former Chitungwiza town clerk Godfrey Tanyanyiwa.Tanyanyiwa was recently jailed six years for two counts of fraud and one count of failing to disclose a transaction to his principal at the municipality.
Two years were suspended for four years on condition of good behaviour while 18 months were set aside for restitution leaving him to serve an effective two and a half years in jail.
While he is in prison, his lawyer Mr Admire Rubaya filed a notice of appeal as well as an application for bail. Justice Chinembiri Bhunu heard arguments from both Mr Rubaya and law officer Mrs Sharon Sindika-Fero before reserving ruling to a later date.
Tanyanyiwa was sent to prison by regional magistrate Hosea Mujaya on September 6 this year after he was convicted on three counts of fraud and one count of “concealing from a principal a personal interest in a transaction”.
He should pay restitution amounting to US$80 000 to Chitungwiza Municipality by December 30 this year. The court also slapped Tanyanyiwa with a US$300 fine for failing to disclose personal interest in a property which he leased to a senior council official. He was slapped with a further one year on another count of prejudicing the council of US$6 500 in rentals.
The prosecution proved that Tanyanyiwa, knowing that he had no money to buy a house, hatched a plan to defraud Chitungwiza Municipality and took US$80 000 from council to buy a house in Chisipite.
He also corruptly concealed his personal interest in a transaction from a principal during the period extending from September to December in 2011 when he offered the Chisipite house through his estate agent for rental to Chitungwiza director of urban planning Mr Conrad Muchesa.
With the intention to deceive, Tanyanyiwa did not disclose his personal interest in the house to his employer and council ended up paying him US$1 300 per month for five months as rental for his property. As a result, council suffered a prejudice of US$6 500.
In the bail application Tanyanyiwa’s lawyers argued that the former council boss’ prospects of success on appeal were high and that he should be granted bail. The court also heard that appeals normally take long to be finalised and that Tanyanyiwa risked serving a prison term that will eventually be quashed.
In his bail statement, Tanyanyiwa said he harboured no intention to flee from the court’s jurisdiction and that he should not be deprived of his liberty.
Online Reporter