Online Reporter
Fidelis Munyoro
Chief Court Reporter
BUSINESS partners, Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe, face potential jail time after the High Court convicted them in a high-profile fraud case involving the Presidential Goat Pass-on Scheme, a Government initiative meant to uplift rural communities.
The trial, presided over by Justice Pisirayi Kwenda, revealed a web of misrepresentation, fake documentation and financial misconduct, which resulted in monumental losses to the State.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Kwenda, sitting with assessors Ms Margaret Chitsiga and retired regional magistrate Mr Temba Kuwanda, declared that the State had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The judge quoted extensively from legal precedent to emphasise the burden of proof required in cases involving circumstantial evidence.
“Again, it must appear that the influence of guilt is the only one that can fairly and reasonably be drawn from the facts, and that the evidence excludes, beyond a reasonable doubt, every hypothesis of innocence,” said Justice Kwenda.
The court found that Mpofu was actively involved and acted criminally in his capacity as one of the directors of Blackdeck (Pvt) Ltd.
He further rejected the defences’ attempt to downplay Chimombe’s involvement, declaring his participation as “active, deliberate, and central to the fraudulent activities.”
At the centre of the scandal is the US$87 million Presidential Goat Pass-on Scheme, a project designed to improve rural livelihoods by providing hundreds of thousands of goats to farming communities.
The court heard that Mpofu and Chimombe, through their company Blackdeck, manipulated the tender process by using unregistered trade names and submitting fraudulent documents, including a fake tax clearance certificate and a counterfeit NSSA compliance certificate.
The Ministry of Lands was misled into awarding the tender to Blackdeck, which subsequently failed to deliver on its promises.
According to a verification report, the company claimed to have mobilised 32 500 goats but only delivered 3 388, leaving a staggering shortfall of 28 612 goats — an 89,6 percent deficit.
The report also revealed that Blackdeck received advance payments amounting to US$7,7 million, but instead of using the funds for the project, the company traded the money on the illegal foreign currency market.
Justice Kwenda noted that the company “misappropriated funds and has not properly accounted for the money to date.”
He ruled that Blackdeck’s use of unregistered trade names, such as “Blackdeck Livestock and Poultry Farm”, was intentional and calculated to deceive.
While Mpofu argued that the trade names were merely “appealing” for a livestock-related tender, the court found the use of these names to be unlawful and misleading.
“The name was designed to give the impression of expertise in livestock farming, which was critical in securing the tender,” said Justice Kwenda.
Further, the court found that the fake tax clearance and NSSA compliance certificates submitted with the bid constituted acts of fraud.
“The Ministry acted on the misrepresentation and awarded the tender to an ineligible bidder, to the detriment of other competitors,” the judge stated.
The court dismissed Chimombe’s defence that his involvement was minimal and unrelated to the fraudulent activities.
Witnesses testified that Chimombe was deeply involved in negotiations, meetings and implementation of the tender.
The judge ruled that Chimombe was a de facto director of Blackdeck and was, therefore, personally liable for the company’s criminal conduct.
“In all the circumstances of this case, the second accused person fits into the definition of a director in terms of Section 277 (1) of the Criminal Law Code,” Justice Kwenda said.
“He was undeniably more visible, active, and authoritative than other directors.”
The court also noted that Chimombe attended a pre-departure verification meeting to address delays in goat deliveries, a role that indicated his operational control over the company.
“If his role was innocent, he should not have been denied his co-option by the company,” the judge remarked.
The fraudulent scheme caused significant financial and logistical losses to the Government.
The verification exercise exposed not only the massive shortfall in goat deliveries, but also the company’s inability to account for the funds it received.
The court heard how Blackdeck traded all the money on the black market at “lightning speed”, leaving no trace of how the proceeds were used.
Justice Kwenda emphasised that the corporate veil could not shield Mpofu and Chimombe from personal liability.
“The law deliberately conflates the company and its directors in criminal cases. Liability that attaches to the company attaches to the directors so that they do not hide behind the corporate veil,” he said.
The court concluded that Mpofu and Chimombe, along with their co-accused, knowingly participated in a fraudulent scheme that undermined the Presidential Goat Pass-on Scheme.
Both men were found guilty of fraud and statutory violations, with sentencing expected to follow in the coming weeks.
Justice Kwenda’s final remarks summed up the gravity of the case:
“The accused persons dealt with the funds in a manner that was reckless, deceptive, and criminal. Such conduct cannot go unpunished.”
