Harare official appears in court – ZimEye

Four Harare officials appear in court on corruption charges*

Reporter | Harare, Zimbabwe – July 12, 2024 | Zimbabwe’s National Prosecuting Authority has announced that four senior Harare city officials are facing criminal charges for abuse of public office. The four officials are Never Murerwa (62), Jabulani Mukomazi (44), Denford Chungu (69) and Tawanda Mutenhabundo (29), who served as supply chain manager, chief buyer, chief accountant and engineering technician respectively.

On March 15, 2024, the City of Harare issued a citywide invitation to tender for street lighting rehabilitation. Among the companies that responded was Juluka Ennd Joint Venture (Pvt) Ltd. However, the joint venture was disqualified for failing to meet the tender requirements. Despite this, the suspected officials are accused of improperly awarding the tender to Juluka Ennd Joint Venture, ignoring their disqualification.

The investigation revealed that the decision was influenced by the accused officials’ personal relationships with people within the company, which had previously failed to perform its duties in a 2019 biogas digester tender. The company’s history of failing to properly perform contracts made it unsuitable to undertake the street lighting project.

The accused officials were remanded to July 15 for a further bail hearing on suspicion of illegally preparing and signing a contract with the Juluka Ennd joint venture worth $294,328, which included an advance payment.

Zimbabwe’s National Prosecuting Authority has stressed its determination to fight corruption and uphold the integrity of public officials.

#FightingCrimeandCorruption

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This article provides a brief overview of the legal proceedings involving the Harare officials, highlighting the key details and allegations.

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