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Conrad Mupesa
Mashonaland West Bureau
Karoi Town Council’s acting town secretary, Tongai Namisala who was suspended on Sunday following his arrest on extortion
charges involving over US$53 000 appeared before Karoi magistrate Mr Edward Verenga on Monday.
Namisala is facing criminal abuse of office charges.
He allegedly demanded a bribe from an engineer who was contracted to design a master plan for Karoi Town Council.
Mr Reginald Chavora prosecuted.
Namisala was granted US$500 bail, coupled with various conditions. He will return to court on 31 October for routine remand.
The court heard that sometime last year, Mr Marlon Mapika was assigned by the Ministry of Local Government and Public
Works to work as lead planner for Karoi Town Council’s master plan.
As part of the contract, Mr Mapika was paid US$180 000.
The court further heard that Namisala allegedly contacted Mr Mapika and demanded US$36 000 as a token of appreciation.
Mr Mapika is said to have paid US$30 000 into the accused person’s bank account.
Namisala allegedly went further to demand amounts ranging from US$1 000 to US$3 000.
Some of the money was purportedly for his children’s school fees and his weekend entertainment, among other things.
Namisala allegedly received a total of US$54 100, while the contractor paid US$1 500 in transaction charges.
As a result, Mr Mapika suffered a loss of US$53 700.
Online Reporter