Online Reporter
Conrad Mupesa
Mashonaland West Bureau
CHINHOYI Provincial Hospital medical superintendent Collet Mawire was granted bail last Thursday after appearing in court on allegations of fraud and abuse of office involving the procurement of a vehicle canopy.
Mawire, a gynaecologist, was arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and appeared before magistrate Nyasha Marufu, who granted him US$100 bail.
The State alleges that Mawire improperly procured and inflated the cost of a canopy for his condition-of-service vehicle, an Isuzu D-Max (registration number AGP 9271).
According to the prosecution, Mawire ordered the hospital to pay US$2 100 to an unregistered supplier for a canopy whose actual value was US$1 800.
Prosecutor Faith Chikuvadze told the court that in July 2024, Mawire privately engaged Tinofara Munashe Jokwi, who operates an unregistered business known as Zim Canopies, to supply and fit the canopy for US$1 800.
A US$500 deposit was allegedly paid upfront using the doctor’s personal funds.
The court heard that after the canopy had already been purchased and fitted, Mawire allegedly instructed Jokwi to inflate the quotation to US$2,100 and submitted it to Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital so that he could claim reimbursement.
When Jokwi reportedly indicated that he did not have company registration or tax clearance documents, Mawire allegedly advised him to use documents belonging to Auto Quick Window Screen (Pvt) Ltd, a company owned by his cousin.
Despite having already completed the transaction privately, Mawire is accused of directing the hospital’s procurement unit to initiate a retrospective procurement process to legitimise the purchase.
He allegedly approved the process himself in his capacity as the hospital’s accounting officer.
Between September 19 and December 3, 2024, Mawire is said to have authorised four separate payments into his First Capital Bank account, amounting to US$2 100, the same figure reflected on the allegedly inflated quotation.
The prosecution argues that Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital lost US$2 100 as a result of Mawire’s alleged conduct.
As part of his bail conditions, Magistrate Marufu ordered Mawire not to interfere with State witnesses.
The matter was remanded to a later date.
