Online Reporter
Fidelis Munyoro
Chief Court Reporter
Jailed businessmen, Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe once celebrated as entrepreneurial trailblazers, now find themselves at the mercy of the Supreme Court, awaiting a chance to appeal their convictions and sentences — a combined 33 years behind bars, much of it for one of the most infamous fraud cases in Zimbabwean history.
Their hopes hang by a thread as they await the ruling of Justice George Chiweshe, who, after hearing their separate pleas for leave to appeal on Tuesday, reserved his decision for another day.
Deliberate and enigmatic, the judge’s words hung in the air: “I will need sufficient time to study the submissions.”
For Mpofu and Chimombe, every passing hour feels like an eternity. They know their futures depend on convincing the court they did not orchestrate the US$7 million scam that tainted the Presidential Goats Pass-On Scheme, a noble initiative meant to uplift rural livelihoods.
Both men are fighting crushing sentences. Mpofu, sentenced to 19 years in prison, faces the weight of his punishment, although 10 years were suspended on condition he pays back US$2 million.
His partner, Chimombe, fared somewhat better with his 14-year sentence, of which a portion was suspended upon repayment of over US$964 000. Yet the debts they owe underscore the gravity of their predicament, and their shared mission is clear: overturn both the convictions and those staggering financial penalties.
It has been an uphill battle for the pair since their doomed bid for relief was struck down by the High Court. Justice Pisirayi Kwenda, with little room for doubt, dismissed their arguments, labelling them “frivolous and vexatious”, words that cut deep into the carefully prepared pleas of the defence.
The ruling painted their guilt as absolute, the fraud scheme as meticulously devised by two men intent on exploiting a programme rooted in goodwill. But Mpofu and Chimombe maintain their innocence.
The Presidential Goats Pass-On Scheme was never meant to find itself at the centre of a national scandal. Its goal was to transform rural agriculture by providing goats to smallholder farmers, who would breed them and pass on the next generation to others in need.
Yet what was intended to be a gift to the nation’s most vulnerable became a byword for corruption when Mpofu and Chimombe allegedly siphoned off millions in funds through phony contracts, fake beneficiaries and mismanaged accounts.
“Lord, show them the truth,” Mpofu reportedly whispered to his business partner as they sat looking at each other at the Supreme Court Virtual Hub.
“We didn’t do this. We’re not the monsters they think we are.” Chimombe, more subdued, said poring over legal documents, desperate to find a thread of hope in the labyrinth of accusations and counterclaims that have defined their trials.
Now, the final decision rests with the apex court, where both men have pinned their hopes for redemption.
Their defence lawyers argued their convictions were riddled with inconsistencies and procedural errors that should have been enough for the High Court to reconsider their case. Whether Justice Chiweshe finds merit in those arguments remains uncertain.
As the ruling remains pending, neither Mpofu nor Chimombe can escape the weight of uncertainty closing in on them.
They are keeping their fingers crossed — praying fervently. Every day they spend in their cramped jail cells casts a larger shadow over their lives, and yet they remain resolute, believing that the Supreme Court will listen. Whether justice or finality awaits them, only time will tell.
