Online Reporter
Yeukai Karengezeka
Court Correspondent
THE trial of former Tourism and Hospitality Minister Walter Mzembi started yesterday at the High Court before Justice Benjamin Chikowero, with the State presenting evidence from three witnesses.
Mzembi faces charges of criminal abuse of office for allegedly donating or loaning four sets of public viewing area screens, valued at US$200 000, to three churches. Representing the State are Mr Beaven Marevanhema and Mrs Audrey Mupini, while Mzembi is being defended by Messrs Emmanuel Samundombe and Killian Mandiki.
Denying the charges, Mzembi asserts that the donations were approved by an inter-ministerial committee tasked with promoting religious tourism.
The State’s first witness, Mr Zvinechimwe Ruvinga Churu, Deputy Chief Secretary responsible for Administration, Finance and Human Resources in the Office of the President and Cabinet, provided detailed testimony about the processes governing Government property.
In his evidence, Mr Churu explained that Government property was typically acquired through proper procurement procedures funded by the National Budget, or through donations from the private sector or international institutions.
He said the management of such property was governed by the Public Finance Management Act, which required accountability and proper use of Government assets.
He further stated that a minister cannot independently execute donations without the requisite formalities being completed by the ministry’s accounting officer, typically the permanent secretary.
If a minister bypasses these procedures, the accounting officer is obligated to report the matter to the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, the Auditor-General and the Chief Secretary to the President. Under cross-examination, Mr Samundombe asked whether Cabinet decisions from 2010 to 2014, including those by a task force on religious tourism, could have approved the donations in question.
Mr Churu admitted he could not dispute this if evidence was presented, but reiterated that ministers were not accounting officers. The second witness, retired permanent secretary Ms Thokozile Alice Rosemary Chitepo also testified.
She said the television screens were bought with Government funds following Treasury’s approval of a US$2 million budget for public viewing equipment during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
“Any purchases made with Government funds are Government property,” she stated, adding that such property can only be disposed of with authorisation from the Ministry of Finance.
Ms Chitepo explained that, in her experience, permanent secretaries typically issued donation letters on behalf of the Government, although ministers occasionally did so too.
While acknowledging that Mzembi signed letters for the donation of six screens, she clarified that she was not in office at the time and could not confirm whether his actions were irregular.
“I can’t confirm because I don’t know the circumstances that were there at the time since I wasn’t there,” she said.
Ms Chitepo also acknowledged that the donations occurred during a period when the Government was actively promoting religious tourism.
A letter written by the then-permanent secretary, Ms Florence Nhekairo, in March 2016 stated: “My office has physically checked all assets. I am satisfied that the records have been properly maintained.”
When questioned about accountability for the 40 screens purchased, Ms Chitepo declined to comment on whether any of the screens were unaccounted for.
The third witness, Mr Richford Lovemore Nyamakura, who served as Finance, Administration, and Human Resources Director in the Ministry of Tourism from 2009 to 2018, also confirmed the procurement of 40 screens.
He testified that he received instructions regarding the donation of four screens to churches from the permanent secretary, not the minister.
