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Zvikomborero Parafini
FORMER ZBC acting chief executive officer, Wisdom Hombarume, has been convicted of smuggling a lapel microphone kit and a hard luggage carry case worth US$711.90 into Zimbabwe without declaring them or paying the required duty.
Hombarume was convicted after a full trial by Harare regional magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka.
He was cleared of charges of stealing trust property and will be sentenced on Wednesday.
Prosecutor Sheila Mupindu proved that on February 21, 2020, Hombarume arrived at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport from South Africa aboard South African Airways with a lapel microphone kit and a hard luggage carry case which he had bought.
Instead of declaring the goods as required by the law, Hombarume left the terminal building with the lapel microphone kit worth US$393.31 and a hard luggage carry case worth US$318.59 without paying duty for the equipment.
The matter came to light when Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) officers conducting other investigations found the equipment in the stores department with no record of duty payment, yet they had been purchased in South Africa.
ZACC referred the matter to the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) which calculated the duty that should have been paid for the smuggled equipment.
ZIMRA suffered a loss of $22 444 for the lapel microphone kit and US$237 for the hard luggage carry case.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Nick Mangwana, was among witnesses called to testify during the trial.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter