Head of the Special Anti-Corruption Unit in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s office Thabani Mpofu exposed the rot in the the judiciary and instigated legal proceedings against a Harare magistrate through writing to Prosecutor General Kumbirai Hodzi complaining about ‘corrupt’ activities by magistrate Ruramai Chitumbura.
In a seemingly retaliatory move and apparent solidarity with a colleague, on Friday regional magistrate Hosea Mujaya fumed over the blatant disrespect of the courts by the President’s Special Anti Corruption Unit which he said seems reluctant to participate in matters before court.
Mujaya had no kind words for the special anti-corruption head, Thabani Mpofu who he said was treating the judicial courts like village courts after he failed to turn up in court yet again since the beginning of the case against POTRAZ Director General Gift Machengete.
Machengete has been inconvenienced on several occasions as the State kept postponing the matter in which he made an application for the charges against him to be quashed and the State has not yet responded while the court was supposed be handing down its ruling today.
Mujaya said on April 17, he will be passing his ruling with or without the State’s response as it seemed their presence (or lack thereof) was neither here nor there.
Today,Mpofu absconded court for the umpteenth time citing several unsubstantiated reasons since the matter began.
“Clearly the State is taking this court for granted. Even chief Chinamhora’s court would perform better than this,” he said.
The State has not yet responded despite promising to do so more than three times.
Machengete’s application to have his reporting conditions relaxed was granted by the same court and his passport was also released to enable him to travel to Switzerland,Geneva on official government business.
He was ordered to return the passport back on April 17.