Online Reporter
Mathew Masinge
THERE was drama at the High Court yesterday when the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services failed to avail Mike Chimombe for his fraud trial without any formal explanation.
Chimombe, who was in no show, had to be brought in later after High Court Judge Justice Pisirayi Kwenda ordered the ZPCS to bring him for the afternoon session.
It was only discovered that Chimombe was sick after his lawyer Professor Lovemore Madhuku applied for the matter to be postponed to March 17.
Professor Madhuku revealed that Chimombe still needed another seven days to recuperate.
“Chimombe is unwell, a medical doctor has ordered that he should be admitted to bed rest for seven days starting from February 28.
“So we are applying for the matter to be postponed and it is necessary for us to monitor his condition in order for us to know his next available date,” said Professor Madhuku in his application.
Justice Kwenda later agreed to adjourn the fraud trial to March 17, for commencement of trial.
From the beginning, the trial has been hit by delays with the two businessmen making various applications interchangeably.
Chimombe is jointly charged with his colleague, Moses Mpofu, on allegations of swindling the State of US$7million in the Presidential Goats Pass-On Scheme.
Mathew Masinge