The long winding Gwanda Solar project case involving flamboyant businessman and Intratrek Zimbabwe managing director Wicknell Chivayo has finally come to rest with the businessman emerging the victor.
He has been acquitted on Friday of a $5,6 million fraud charge emanating from the controversial Gwanda solar project deal.
The High Court ruled that charges were contrived and properly excepted to.
This follows Chivayo’s applictionn to the High Court contesting against the lower court ‘s ruling to dismiss his application excepting to the charges on the grounds that they did not disclose an offence.
In a hard hitting ruling , Justice Owen Tagu ruled that the charges “apart from being suggestive of a skirmish, a mere witch hunt and a fishing expedition it tells more of a hidden hand or mala fides intention in the institution of the criminal proceedings brought about by the State in the circumstances.”
He said it was no coincidence that two different judges of the same court in separate sittings and dealing with different issues but relating to a similar cause of action concurred on the lack of merit in the criminal case.
“It demonstrates the extent of common acceptance that the criminal case is at best a causa non grata, a high sounding nothing,” he said.
Chivayo was represented by top lawyers Advocate Lewis Uriri and S.M Hashiti while the respondents were represented by one S Fero.
More to Follow
