A BID by a Harare mining engineer, Tawanda Sibanda, who is serving an effective one- year jail term for theft, to be granted bail pending appeal against both sentence and conviction hit a brick wall yesterday after High Court judge Justice Felistus Chatukuta dismissed the application.
SENIOR COURT REPORTER
Sibanda (34), who was employed as a marketing manager at one of the country’s chemical distributors, Curechem Overseas, was last Tuesday slapped with a five-year jail term by regional magistrate Noel Mupeiwa, who convicted him of theft of trust property and corruptly concealing a transaction from a principal.
The court, however ordered him to serve a one-year effective jail term after setting aside three years on condition Sibanda restitutes Curechem in the sum of $74 000 by December 16 this year.
One more year was suspended on condition of good behaviour. In dismissing Sibanda’s application, Justice Chatukuta said the convict’s chances of being spared an effective prison term basing on his appeal were close to none.
The case against Sibanda was that contrary to his contract of employment at Curechem, sometime last year, he formed and joined a company called Evetech Investments as one of its directors.
The court heard that Sibanda’s company started trading in chemicals just like his employer’s firm, but did not disclose his business interests to his employer, Curechem group managing director Anup Chand.
