Former Midlands Minister, Mash West PA trial kicks off

Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
THE trial of former Midlands Provincial Affairs Minister Jason Machaya, Mashonaland West provincial administrator Cecilia Chitiyo and six other senior Government employees kicked off yesterday with their lawyers applying for stay of prosecution.

Machaya (65), Chitiyo (50), who is also the former PA for the Midlands province, Matilda Manhambo (59), Sherpard Marweyi (48), Sifelani Moyo (59), Ethel Mlalazi (65), Chisainyerwa Chibhururu (47) and Everest Nyamadzawo (33) appeared before Bulawayo Regional Magistrate Mrs Sibongile Msipa-Marondedze facing charges of illegally allocating more than 11 000 stands to land developers.

They are also facing criminal abuse of office charges.

Mrs Msipa-Marondedze postponed the matter today for ruling on the application by the defence lawyers.

The lawyers applied for stay of prosecution arguing that some of the charges that their clients were facing were from 2004 adding that some of the potential witnesses had died while some of the accused like Manhambo and Mlalazi had since retired.

Manhambo’s lawyer, Mr Hillary Garikari, said her client was suffering from hypertension and other chronic diseases which affected her memory.

“If my client had been arrested long back she would have been in a position to remember events as they happened, she would have been capacitated to give details with regard to her defence. Now she can’t remember the facts, she can’t remember the people she worked with and all these are important in her defence,” he said.

“She has since left employment. The charges she is facing will require details which must be given sufficiently to convince the court in her defence”.

Machaya’s legal counsel Mr Alec Muchadehama said: “There can’t be a fair trial for my client now because some of the charges are from 2004 and some of the witnesses are dead.”

Mr Andrew Kamire for the State accused the defence lawyers of deliberately attempting to frustrate the court process.

He accused the defence counsel of failing to provide prosecution with relevant documents in time.

“Prosecution is entitled to be given time to look at defence documents which was not done. There is no documentation from accused representatives to prepare the State’s case. The defence counsel is infringing on the right of accused to expedite the trial. They want to avert an early trial,” he said

“With regard to stay of execution and according to the then Supreme Court judge Anthony Gubbay, the distinction between the period for or against prosecution cannot be drawn too sharply and in this case, there is no extraordinary delay in the matter. Accused were only charged in February 2018. So the period the court ought to consider if there was an extra ordinary delay is February to December last year when prosecutors handed the matter over for trial. I submit that the prosecution expeditiously prepared for the case,” he said.

Machaya is out on $1 000 bail while Chitiyo, Manhambo, Marweyi, Moyo, Mlalazi, Chibhururu and Nyamadzawo are out on $200 bail each.

It is the State’s case that Chitiyo, who was employed as the PA for Midlands province, allegedly intentionally allocated State land totalling 4 469 stands to land developers by co-signing offer letters for the State land with Machaya.

Manhambo, who was employed as the provincial projects officer by the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, allegedly allocated 2 000 stands to land developers and entities working in cahoots with Machaya.

Similarly, Marweyi, who is the district administrator for Gweru, allegedly allocated 5 199 stands to land developers also working in cahoots with Machaya.

Nyamadzawo, who is an administrative officer, is accused of unlawfully writing a survey instruction letter to the Surveyor-General, instructing his office to nominate a surveyor for the State land, knowing fully well that Government had not allocated that land.

Survey instructions, the State argues, can only be written in respect of State land allocated to persons and entities by the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing.

Chibhururu, Moyo and Mlalazi are facing abuse of office charges.