Under fire former Mines Ministry Secretary Francis Gudyanga has threatened to drop a bombshell in court when he takes to the stand and he wants his case to be recorded because he has highly classified information.
Gudyanga is being accused of misappropriating over $1,6 million state funds says he has ‘classified information’ which he cannot divulge in a public court.
Norman Mugiya who is representing Gudyanga said he will make a full application on 3 June 2019.
Prosecutor George Manokore had also sought for a postponement saying the state will be ready by June 3 because the prosecutor handling the matter was not available.
“On that date, we will be definitely proceeding with a trial. Issues which the accused raised that he wants the case to be heard on camera will be resolved then” he said.
The State is of the case that during the period extending from September 2014 to December 2015, Gudyanga, acting in his capacity as the secretary for Mines and sometimes as the board chairperson of Mineral Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ), misrepresented to MMCZ that the parastatal pays $1 6 29 500 to Glammer (Pvt) Ltd, a foreign company through a local agricultural company, Pedstock.
Pedstock produces irrigation equipment and fertilisers.
Pedstock is a subsidiary of Nikuv International Projects Limited that hogged the limelight on allegations of electronically manipulating the 2013 election outcome widely believed to have been rigged in favour of former President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF.
It is alleged that Gudyanga further misrepresented that the money be accounted to as dividends due to the stakeholder, in this case the government of Zimbabwe.
The State alleges MMCZ acting on the accused’s misrepresentation released the $1 629 500 to Pedstock when in fact the money was not being paid to the government as dividend, but for a private arrangement which had nothing to do with the parastatal.
The procedure is that dividends are paid to the secretary, who, in turn, issues a receipt of acknowledgement.
But Gudyanga’s misrepresentation caused MMCZ to suffer a prejudice of $1 629 500 and nothing was recovered.
