Mutare City council Town Clerk Joshua Maligwa was dragged before Nyanga Magistrate court facing five counts of corruption and alleged abuse of office during his time as Rusape Town Council secretary.
Maligwa is currently under trial after Nyanga Magistrate Vusimuzi Gapara ruled that he has a case to answer on all five counts of corruption he allegedly committed when he was still serving Rusape Town Council.
Maligwa through his lawyers, Victor Mazengero and Taurai Khupe, had applied for discharge at the close of the State case arguing that the prosecution had failed to prove a case against their client.
However, Magistrate Gapara said, after analyzing submissions by both the State prosecutor Event Dhliwayo and defense, it was clear that the State managed to prove a prima facie case against Maligwa.
Gapara also threw out an application for postponement by Maligwa’s lawyers who argued that they needed ample time to prepare a defense for their client, after State prosecutor Roy Weja, who was standing in for Dhliwayo opposed the application labeling it a delaying tactic.
Maligwa (47), who is now Mutare City Town Clerk, allegedly unlawfully paid himself school fees without council approval, awarded contracts without going to tender, overpaid his foreign travel and subsistence allowances, overturned tender committee decisions and influenced his own terminal benefits.
The accused pleaded not guilty to all the charges arguing that all he did was above board and prayed for an acquittal, when the trial initially kicked off in August 2019.
Prosecution have made submissions that Maligwa violated Section 174 (1)(a) of the Criminal Law Codification and Reform Act Chapter 9:23, which criminalizes abuse of office by public officers.
Maligwa is accused of failing to provide strategic leadership as the accounting officer and chief advisor to council, failing to manage operations of council (Rusape) effectively, efficiently and with proper control as well as abusing of council assets.
