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AirZim boss bail application, judgement reserved

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High Court judge Justice Owen Tagu yesterday reserved judgment on Air Zimbabwe boss Peter Chikumba’s bail application to next Wednesday after hearing submissions from both the State and the defence.

High Court judge Justice Owen Tagu yesterday reserved judgment on Air Zimbabwe boss Peter Chikumba’s bail application to next Wednesday after hearing submissions from both the State and the defence.

BY CHARLES LAITON

Chikumba is serving an effective seven-year prison term for abuse of office after he was convicted of appointing Navistar Insurance to provide insurance services for AirZim without going to tender, an assertion the former group chief executive officer has since challenged in his appeal.

Through his lawyer, Admire Rubaya, Chikumba said he wondered why the regional magistrate convicted him when she had established that his co-accused person, Grace Pfumbidzayi, was not a credible witness.

Rubaya said in her judgement, magistrate Fadzai Mtombeni established that Pfumbidzayi “would lie in some aspects and would tell the truth in some aspects”.

“Thus (she) was a sophisticated witness and was the main brains behind the appointment,” of Navistar Insurance.

“The court made a grave mistake of not warning itself that it was dealing with an accomplice witness. It is clear that the court aquo [lower court] believed a witness who could not be trusted,” Rubaya said.

“It is clear from the record that Pfumbidzayi unilaterally approved payment of the debit notes to Navistar Insurance and there was no involvement of the applicant in this matter whatsoever.

“The applicant was not involved in the appointment of Navistar and his appeal against conviction is not doomed and we have established that the conviction of the applicant by the court aquo was misplaced.”

Turning to the sentence, Rubaya said the seven-year jail term was strikingly shocking as it was not done judicially.

“The cases which the court aquo referred to in assessing sentence did not relate to abuse of office, the three cases cited by the magistrate related to bribery (and) the exchange of cash,” he said.

“This 10-year jail term resulted in the sensationalisation of the matter to the extent that the court said the actions of the applicant brought the airline to its knees.”

But there is no evidence to suggest that the applicant benefited from the alleged offence.

“The sentence of the applicant ought not to have been equated to his co-accused, Pfumbidzayi, who is alleged to have built a mansion within a short period of time, meaning she benefited; if at all she committed the said crime.”

State representative Innocent Muchini, however, urged the court to dismiss the application, arguing the magistrate made a proper conviction.

“The magistrate made a finding that the applicant was complicit in the appointment of Navistar and the conviction was proper,” Muchini said.

“On the question of sentence, the magistrate assessed a proper sentence in that a custodial sentence would be unavoidable and justice demands that the applicant should prosecute his appeal while in custody.”