ZANU PF activist Fidelis Fengu yesterday applied for the suspension of a $2 000 restitution order imposed by a Harare magistrate following his conviction on charges of defrauding a Chinese national in a botched residence permit deal.
by PAIDAMOYO MUZULU
Fengu was last month convicted of breaching the Immigration Act when he provided Xu Sheikeng with a forged residence permit.
Magistrate Tendai Mahwe sentenced him to 12 months in prison, four months were suspended for five years and another four suspended on condition he paid back the complainant, leaving him with an effective four months in prison.
Fengu has since appealed against both the conviction and sentence.
Fengu’s lawyer Rungano Mahuni said: “From the record it is the State’s contention that the applicant [Fengu] and the complainant knew each other and both parties knew that what they were embarking on was an illegal transaction, which invokes the legal principle that says parties who engage in an illegal transaction, the court should not sanction such an illegality.”
“We, therefore, pray that the applicant should not reinstitute the complainant as had been ordered by the court.”
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However, the prosecutor Samantha Dhlamini opposed the application.
“If the court grants a ruling for restitution it should be respected. We have a case law that says restitution cannot be suspended, but the applicant should put security to the court to assure the interest of the other party if their appeal is dismissed,” she said.
“The appeal lodged at the High Court, in our view, has no prospects of success.”
Mahwe said he will give his ruling tomorrow.
Fengu remains out of custody on bail pending his appeal.
