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Nyore Madzianike-Senior Court Reporter
Grain Marketing Board (GMB) regional enterprise manager Mr Norman Severa yesterday chronicled in court how he came across documents that implicated former Agriculture deputy minister Douglas Karoro who had allegedly corruptly acquired 700 bags of fertiliser from Mushumbi Depot..
Karoro is jointly charged with Mushumbi Depot manager Lovejoy Ngowe, Chidamba, Jeremy Phiri and Dean Dzimunya on fraud charges. They are all denying the charges.
Yesterday, Mr Severa laid out the procedure, which should be followed when inputs under the Presidential Inputs Scheme are being distributed.
“I received a tip-off that there were bags of Compound D that were dispatched from Mushumbi but raised in the name of Hon Karoro. On 29 April, 2022 we attended the scene Mushumbi in the company of officers from Commercial Crimes Department and we checked the documents and discovered that 700 bags were dispatched to Hon Douglas Karoro,” he said.
Mr Severa told the court that they noted that there was something amiss in the manner in which the inputs left Mushumbi Pools Depot.
Inputs were supposed to be distributed following modalities and guideline from the Agriculture ministry through a committee. “In each district there is a committee chaired by the District Development Committee and GMB is part of committee as custodian of inputs.
“It maintains the records, provide transport to the distribution centres and GMB informs the committee of stock received. Agritex is the secretariat and it produces the beneficiary list. A depot manager supplies the list with police offering security and escorts services.
“GMB informs the committe members through DDC so that distribution can be executed according to Agritex recommendations,” he said.
Mr Severa told the court that he discovered that the inputs had been dispatched to Karoro through a gatebook. There were inputs that were transferred from Cleveland depot to Mushumbi Pools.
“I also discovered that the fertilisers were send to Aspindale Depot on the pretext that they were being exchanged for top dressing fertiliser. There are documents pertaining to that which were raised to that effect.
“We obtained the documents from Mushumbi and Aspindale. For the inputs to be accepted at Aspindale, Mushumbi was supposed to raise depot to depot transfer documents.” Mr Severa told the court that Ngowe sent the documents to Aspindale depot via email.
Mr George Manokore for the State then applied to tender into court record the copy of email that Ngowe allegedly send to Aspindale depot. Karoro, through lawyer Mr Admire Rubaya, objected to tendering of the document arguing that the manner in which the State wanted to produce it was unlawful since the document could not be tendered through Mr Severa as he was not the author of the document.
He also argued that it was against Constitutional provisions, as it was against Karoro’s rights to a fair trial, and finally argued that there was no proof that the document was originated by Ngowe, suggesting that it could have been doctored.
Mr Batanai Pesanayi, who is representing Ngowe, concurred with Mr Rubaya. Harare regional magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa is expected to make a ruling on the objection on January 30.
Earlier this week a State witness denied interacting with former Agriculture deputy minister Douglas Karoro who is being tried on charges of corruptly acquiring 700 bags of fertiliser from GMB Mushumbi Pools under the Presidential Inputs Scheme before selling them in Harare.
Karoro is jointly charged with GMB Mushumbi Pools depot manager Lovejoy Ngowe, Jeremy Phiri, Mugove Chidamba and Dean Dzimunya on fraud charges.
The inputs were set to benefit farmers in Mbire constituency under the Presidential Inputs Scheme.
Karoro and his accomplices denied the charges when their trial opened last year before Harare regional magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa.
Bongani Ndlovu