adminZvikomborero Parafini
TWO draftsmen, who helped the Harare City Council in drafting building plans, appeared in court yesterday on allegations of illegally possessing blank Council receipts, plans and forged receipts.
Procedure Marange and Brian Ticky appeared separately before magistrate Stanford Mambanje charged with forgery and possession of articles for criminal use.
Marange was released on $150 000 bail and ordered not to interfere with witnesses.
He was also ordered to report twice a week at the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) offices.
Ticky was released on $100 000 bail.
The court heard that ZACC received a tip-off that one, Tendai Kopera, had tendered a forged receipt to a Council official at the Tafara office.
Kopera realised that he had tendered a fake receipt, after being apprehended by municipal police, soon after submitting it.
The municipal police handed him over to ZACC where he was interrogated and he revealed that it had been given to him by Marange.
He told the ZACC officials that he got the forged receipt after approaching Marange requesting for a loan to pay for his plan approval by Council.
The forged receipt of a US$385 payment was sent to Kopera via WhatsApp.
It is alleged that when Marange heard that ZACC officials were looking for him, he dismantled his ICT equipment from his office, in a bid to conceal the evidence.
Marange was arrested at his office and the police recovered eight hard copy letterheads from the City of Harare planning office.
The state said he was in possession of the letterheads for criminal use.
Marange was arrested in the company of Ticky, whose bag was searched and 28 copies of blank receipts, two City of Harare letterheads and fake plan approvals, were found.
Pardon Dziva appeared for the State.
Online Reporter