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NewsDay

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Finance ministry $700K ‘fraudsters’ granted bail

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They were yesterday ordered by the High Court to pay $1 000 bail each

Two of the six Ministry of Finance employees accused of swindling the government of over $700 000 through an orchestrated company scan, were yesterday ordered by the High Court to pay $1 000 bail each, after their initial order by a magistrate was revoked by the State last week.

BY CHARLES LAITON

Brian Nyazamba and Thomas Mawoyo, last week, appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court on a charge of swindling their employer and after having been granted bail by a magistrate, the State opposed the order and appealed against it at the High Court.

High Court judge Justice Chinembiri Bhunu however, upheld prosecutor Innocent Muchini’s appeal adding there was need to tighten Nyazamba and Mawoyo’s bail conditions.

As an addition to the duo’s bail conditions, Justice Bhunu further ordered the two men to surrender their passports, their title deeds, and not to visit their work places or to interfere with evidence.

Justice Bhunu said the magistrate who initially granted Nyazamba and Mawoyo bail, had misdirected himself by failing to consider the imposition of stringent bail conditions that would allay fears of abscondment or interference.

Last month, four other Ministry of Finance employees appeared at the Harare Magistrate Courts charged with swindling their employer in the same amount.

The four included senior economist Varaidzo Margret Chirawhi, accountant Jacob Forgive Mlambo, deputy director external finance Stanely Zharare and acting director of finance Mary Takavarasha.

The quartet are said to have acted in cahoots with Nyazamba and Mawoyo together with other top government officials in a bid to swindle the government of $729 345.

Allegations against the employees were that sometime in December last year they manufactured fake invoices which they later submitted to the Accountant General’s Office for payment.

According to the State, the employees submitted names of companies of non-existent firms in the name of NicoOrgo (pvt) Limited and Pioneer Hibred (pvt) Limited through which they allegedly later sought payment for non-existent jobs.

However, the offence came to light on January 15 this year when the Ministry of Agriculture which had requested the Ministry of Finance to release funds to Reapers (pvt) Limited, Zimbabwe Fertiliser Company and Windmill (pvt) Limited, was informed there was insufficient balance to meet the payments.