Online Reporter
Yeukai Karengezeka-Court Correspondent
FORMER Tourism and Hospitality Minister Walter Mzembi, who is accused of improperly donating public viewing screens worth US$200 000 to three churches, is now seeking discharge at the close of the State case.
This comes after the State led evidence from the last witness, who is the investigating officer, Mr Eric Chacha, of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).
Presiding judge Justice Benjamin Chikowero is expected to deliver his ruling on the matter on February 17.
In his evidence in chief, Mr Chacha outlined the steps he took to verify whether Mzembi’s actions adhered to legal and procedural requirements. His findings revealed that the former minister had violated due process.
“Sometime in 2017, I was assigned to investigate allegations of criminal abuse of duty involving public viewing screens donated to Zion Christian Church, Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries and United Family International Church ,” said Mr Chacha.
He testified that he requested documents from the Ministry of Tourism detailing the procurement of the screens and correspondence related to their donation. He also sought records from the Ministry of Finance regarding Treasury approvals for the acquisitions.
Mr Chacha noted that Treasury released US$2 million for the purchase of 40 public viewing screens. Some screens had been loaned to other Government institutions and private entities with proper Treasury concurrence, which included written conditions on how the equipment would be managed.
However, in the case involving the three churches, there was no such approval from Treasury. “Investigations revealed there was no Treasury concurrence at the time these screens were loaned to the churches,” he said.
