daniel chigunwe
Zvikomborero Parafini
CCTV footage has enabled the State to establish a strong case against employees from the Registrar General’s Office, who allegedly facilitated the illegal issuance of passports to Cameroonian nationals, a magistrate has ruled.
The bid by the employees to be granted bail flopped in Harare yesterday.
Magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa ruled that they were not suitable candidates for bail.
Gofa concurred with the State that there were compelling reasons to warrant their pre-trial detention.
She added that with the help of the CCTV footage, the State has managed to establish a strong case against them which may cause them to abscond trial.
Ruramai Mutyatya, Maureen Natasha Munemo, Chiedza Hlomani, Romio Shonhiwa, Marian Roman, Tanaka Lisaphael Magaya, Edith Moto, Grace Kapungu, Lackmore Chinokokora, Neria Sombi, Trymore Chipanga and Acid Asidi initially appeared before magistrate Gofa last Wednesday, charged with criminal abuse of office.
Mutyatya is employed by the Registrar General’s Office as a supervisor while Sombi, Chipanga and Asidi are employed by Advert (Pvt) Ltd as cleaners and are attached to the Registrar General’s Office.
The rest are processing officers.
The court heard that on September 17, Tafadzwa Chiundidza, connived with a quartet of Cameroonians — Christiana BoyembeDumba, Emile MuyaMuya, Marvel NgeiTegha and Yvette KumNnam — to acquire passports at the Registrar’s Office.
The four are not Zimbabwean by birth and did not acquire Zimbabwean Citizenship.
She allegedly fraudulently acquired Zimbabwean birth certificates for the four Cameroonian at the Registrar General’s Office in Mount Darwin.
The national identity cards were acquired at the Registrar General’s Office at Market Square in Harare.
Chiundidza then connived with Sombi, Chipanga and Asidi to escort the quartet through all the necessary processes.
They escorted them from stage one up to the final stage since they were not able to speak any one of Zimbabwe’s local languages or even pronounce the surnames of their newly-acquired Zimbabwean identities.
This was all captured on CCTV footage.
Prosecutor Lancelot Mutsokoti claimed that none of the personnel verified the information on the passport application forms and on the birth certificates, which had discrepancies, an act contrary to the nature of their duties.
On September 21, the Cameroonians were arrested at Beitbridge border post on their way to South Africa by the Zimbabwean Immigration Officers.
Lancelot Mutsokoti prosecuted.
Online Reporter