THE trial of Core Mining boss Lovemore Kurotwi resumed in South Africa with the long-awaited inspection in loco being held at facilities a Zimbabwean delegation visited here five years ago for a due diligence exercise.
EVERSON MUSHAVA IN KIMBERLEY, SOUTH AFRICA
Kurotwi is accused of prejudicing government of $2 billion in a botched diamond investment deal, but is denying the charges.
All the four State witnesses failed to identify the exact position in Kimberley, Northern Cape Province, where they claimed to have been led by Kurotwi in 2009 for the inspection of his outfit’s mining activities before the signing of a joint venture agreement between Core Mining and Marange Resources to form Canadile Miners.
Marange Resources is wholly owned by the State-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC).
Former ZMDC chairperson Gloria Mawarire, former ZMDC company secretary Tichaona Muhonde, Ashton Ndlovu and Mark Tsomondo all failed to identify the exact location along Vaal River they claim to have been led to by Kurotwi for a due diligence exercise in 2009.
“This is the general area where we came to. It’s almost five years and I cannot positively identify it,” Muhonde said.
The witness also failed to identify the place by name, but simply agreed that was the general area they were brought to. The place is now a game park, but showed signs that mining activities once took place some time ago.
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“So can we call this area X?” High Court judge Justice Chinembiri Bhunu asked the witnesses.
Mawarire said she could not remember the exact location because she was led to the place as a passenger seated at the back of the car.
Earlier before the visit to the mining site, chief law officer Chris Mutangadura led the court to the Pikwane Diamonds premises in Kimberley, where a meeting between Core Mining representatives and the ZMDC delegation was held in August 2009.
Mutangadura attempted to lead evidence from Trevor Pikwane, a South African businessman who is believed to be the owner of Pikwane Diamonds. But Kurotwi’s lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, raised objections that anyone who had not testified in Harare could not do so in South Africa.
“The accused persons have rights. You cannot ambush them. You have also made an undertaking that after the inspection in loco, you will close the State case,” Mtetwa charged at Mutangadura.
“Has that position changed? You should tell us if you are bringing in more witnesses so that the accused persons can prepare.”
Advocate Lewis Uriri, who represented Kurotwi’s co-accused former ZMDC chief executive officer Dominic Mubaiwa, also raised objections to the attempt by Mutangadura to have Pikwane testify saying the court was simply in South Africa to observe facilities.
Uriri said it was never in dispute that the team visited Pikwane; the subject of dispute was the subject of the meeting.
“That is why I have been objecting to coming here, that the meeting was held here was never in dispute, but the subject of the meeting,” Uriri said.
Kurotwi is being accused of misrepresenting to the State that Core Mining was a special purpose vehicle of Benn Steinmeitz Group Resources (BSGR), a South African diamond mining company.
The State alleges that the pull-out of BSGR from the deal prejudiced the country of $2 billion worth of investments.
Kurotwi has, however, maintained that BSGR pulled out after government failed to meet the conditions it set. He claimed that he never misrepresented to the State that Pikwane Diamonds was the offices of Core Mining, and that he had mining activities in South Africa.
