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Yeukai Karengezeka Court Correspondent
Gospel musician Ivy Kombo and her husband Admire Kasi, who are facing fraud allegations related to illegally acquiring conversion certificates to practice law in Zimbabwe by paying a US$1 100 bribe, have distanced themselves from the allegations.
The two said they had no reason to pay anyone anything as they followed the required procedures.
Yesterday, Kasi’s lawyer Mr Everson Chatambudza, while cross examining the second witness Shorai Mupunga, a former employee at the Council for Legal Education (CLE), produced paperwork showing how he acquired his certificate.
Kasi said he made an application in 2019 and in 2022 he received a letter signed by the council’s chairperson Justice Sylvia Chirau indicating that he had been exempted from writing eight conversion examinations. The letter also directed him to make a payment which he did, on October 31, 2022.
According to Mr Chatambudza, this resulted in Kasi getting the conversion certificate.
Ms Mupunga concurred with the defence that the route taken by Kasi showed the process followed was legitimate.
She was not in a position to say that the two were not exempted because she never sat in the council that deliberated on the applications, but based her allegation on the money she allegedly received and gave to one Huggins Duri, to facilitate the issue of the certificates.
On her part, Kombo said she received the conversion certificate from the CLE, signed by Justice Chirau and had no knowledge whether it was a product of the alleged fraud since she underwent all the procedures for her to be issued with a legitimate conversion certificate.
Her lawyer Mr Admire Rubaya argued that it was not her place to investigate as she obtained her certificate from a reputable institution.
Allegations are that the couple approached Ms Mupunga, to assist them to register and write the conversion examinations.
Sometime last year, Ms Mupunga approached Duri, who indicated that he was able to facilitate the issuance of the conversion certificates, without writing the conversion examinations, if the couple paid US$1 100.
The two allegedly paid the money through Ms Mupunga, who handed it to Duri, who then processed the certificates which certified that the couple had written and passed eight conversion subjects.
Ms Mupunga told the court that in her conversation with Kombo, there was never any talk about money or fraudulent acquisition of the certificates but that she inquired about the process to write the examinations.
The trial will proceed on Monday for cross-examination of the witness by Duri’s lawyer, Mr Oliver Marwa, who took over after the other lawyers representing him had renounced agency.
Online Reporter