adminYeukai Karengezeka Court Correspondent
Chitungwiza Municipality housing director Alex Mukwewa (45) has appeared in court on criminal abuse of office charges after he allegedly pegged and sold industrial stands on a wetland.
He misrepresented that he was creating a school playground in Zengeza 4.
Mukwewa pleaded not guilty when he initially appeared before Chitungwiza magistrate Ms Gladys Moyo on Monday, on charges of criminal abuse of duty as a public officer.
Ms Moyo yesterday granted him $5 000 bail. He was ordered to reside at his given address, to report once a week at Norton Police Station and not to interfere with witnesses. Mukwewa will be back in court on October 19.
Prosecutor Mr Norman Koropi told the court that Mukwewa committed the offence when he was still the acting director of housing and community services between December last year and June 2020.
In 2019, Ms Angela Katsuwa applied to lease land from Chitungwiza Municipality with an option to buy one hectare of open State land for a playground for her infant school.
Contrary to a ministerial directive issued by Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo to stop the lease or sale of State land in Chitungwiza, Mukwewa accepted Ms Katsuwa’s application in his capacity as the then acting housing director.
After having the area verified by Mr Tendai Chinganga, a district manager for Zengeza district, he told Ms Katsuwa that council had identified a possible open space in Zengeza 4, close to her infant school, where playgrounds could be established.
He advertised the proposal in The Herald of 18 March, without the approval of the town clerk.
After the 21 days had lapsed, Ms Katsuwa was told that there were no objections and thereafter council asked the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) to carry out an ecological assessment and the report said the 1ha could be used as a playground.
Ms Katsuwa started preparing the land for her school playground.
While Mukwewa was still processing the said area for Ms Katsuwa, he allegedly and secretly created industrial stands on the same land without any site plans or council resolution.
He allegedly issued offer letters to Mr Stanley Dzingai stand number 21387, Mr Edwin Tichareva stand number 21209, Mr Douglas Chaitezvi stand number 21208, Nordship Investments stand number 21386 and Ms Georgina Mbekumbe stand number 21385.
This was despite the fact that EMA had indicated that the land was a wetland, where no buildings could be erected.
Mukwewa allegedly went ahead and sold the stands.
Online Reporter