Chronicle Editor
Bongani Ndlovu, Online Reporter
A SENIOR pastor at Harvest House International Church has been found guilty of corruption, after fraudulently converting land belonging to Mutare Teachers College for institutional expansion, to warehousing and residential use.
According to a statement by the National Prosecuting Authority, the senior pastor Fungai Munyama, was also the provincial planning officer at the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works for Manicaland Province.
He was convicted by a Harare Magistrate on 20 February 2024 for corruption.
“In 2010 the accused person corruptly issued a public notice indicating intention to change the use of the land belonging to Mutare Teachers College from institutional expansion to warehousing and residential use. He did not notify Mutare Teachers College of the ministry’s intention to change the land use. He only notified Mutare Council and Mutare Probation Hostel and Remand who raised their objections on the 10th of April 2010,” said the statement.
Munyama, according to the statement, also misrepresented to his superiors that he had followed all procedures to ascertain that the land was not reserved for institutional expansion purposes.
“The Ministry of Local Government and Public Works relied on the misrepresentation made by the accused person and approved a new layout plan for five garden flats, a warehouse, an open space and two churches on the same piece of land,” read the statement.
An investigation by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission uncovered that Munyama got a stand and facilitated his church to get a stand.
“Investigations by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission revealed that the accused person got a garden flat stand and facilitated the allocation of a church stand to his church, Harvest House International,” read the statement.
Munyama will appear in court on the 26th of February 2024 for sentencing.
Online Reporter