BY STAFF REPORTER
NATIONAL Social Security Authority (NSSA) former executive assistant Tirivavi James Chiuta on Wednesday walked out of court a free man following his acquittal on charges of criminal abuse of office.
Magistrate Estere Chivasa freed Chiuta (35) after the State failed to defend its case.
Chiuta was nabbed in 2018 and charged with fraud and criminal abuse of office for handpicking five selected projects, declining National Building Society (NBS) projects in the process, an act that was viewed as criminal.
He had picked the five for housing projects in Harare, Mutare, Gweru, Zvishavane and Marondera, ostensibly without the sanctioning by the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ).
But in her ruling, Chivasa said no witnesses, particularly from NSSA, managed to support the State case and there was nothing amiss in what Chiuta did to warrant prosecution.
She said there was no witness from NBS that testified nailing Chiuta and instead accused the State of acting in an irregular manner by pushing Chiuta to implicate himself.
Chivasa added that all State witnesses confirmed Chiuta had acted on a resolution made by the NSSA board.
