HARARE magistrate Vongai Muchuchuti on Friday remanded former Tourism minister Priscah Mupfumira in prison while she awaits to be furnished with a trial date.
The matter was remanded to October 4.
Prosecuting, Idah Maromo alleged that in 2014, following her appointment as Public Service minister, Mupfumira intentionally acted contrary to her duties as a public officer by verbally instructing the then permanent secretary in her ministry, Ngoni Masoka, to advance her a loan of US$90 000 from National Social Security Authority (NSSA).
NSSA, being a parastatal under her ministry, availed the loan to the minister. The loan was meant for the purchase of her ministerial vehicle, a Toyota Landcruiser from Croco Motors as per her instruction.
It is alleged that Mupfumira’s action was illegal as NSSA had no authority to issue such a loan.
After the purchase of the Landcruiser, the former Tourism minister is said to have accepted another ministerial vehicle, a Range Rover, which was availed to her by government despite that she had already bought another one through the NSSA loan she was still servicing.
It is further alleged that sometime in 2016 and on different occasions while exercising her functions as the minister, Mupfumira intentionally acted contrary to her duties as a public officer by corruptly requesting US$101 814.80 from NSSA’s corporate social responsibilities budget.
Mupfumira is also alleged to have verbally directed pensions group to draw up a US$350 000 budget in excess of its normal corporate social responsibility budget from where she later claimed US$303 520.03 for personal and political use in 2017.
