HARARE – Prosecutors on Thursday pushed for 35-year jail terms for businessmen Moses Mpofu and Mike Chimombe, saying the pair defrauded the state of US$87.7 million meant to buy goats for some of Zimbabwe’s poorest families.
Sentencing is set for Monday.
Mpofu and Chimombe were convicted of using forged documents to secure a tender to supply 632,001 goats under the Presidential Goat Scheme, a pass-on programme meant for orphans, child-headed families, the elderly, the disabled and chronically ill.
Although the tender was awarded to Blackdeck Pvt Ltd, the contract presented to the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development was instead signed by an unregistered entity, Blackdeck Livestock and Poultry Farming. Investigators later found the company had no 2021 tax clearance, while a QR code on its NSSA certificate belonged to a different company – Skywalk Investments.
The government paid ZWL1.6 billion in 2022 – then equivalent to US$7.7 million – after the tender was awarded. The contract was later cancelled for non-delivery.
Prosecutor Whisper Mabhaudhi said the pair “stole from the poorest of the poor”, noting that of the 85,000 goats they claimed to have mobilised, “only 4,000 were delivered.”
“This offence shocks the conscience,” Mabhaudhi argued. “The starting point is 20 years. With aggravation, the state asks for 35 years, the maximum sentence.”
He said Mpofu had spoken of how he upgraded roads, a dam and his farm “using part of the US$7.7 million which was never accounted for,” insisting there was “never any genuine remorse.”
Mabhaudhi said the duo frustrated the trial with “unnecessary applications” and should not benefit from pre-trial incarceration.
He warned that giving them a lighter sentence would be a “betrayal of justice”, citing cases where public officials are serving lengthy jail terms for far smaller amounts.
“There must be a message that if you take government tenders and don’t deliver, there will be consequences,” he said.
Chimombe’s lawyer, Arshiel Mugiya, urged the court to depart from the presumptive 20-year penalty, arguing that his client was a first offender, diabetic, and had already spent months in custody.
He said Chimombe has three wives and 15 minor children, is a “rags-to-riches” businessman, and was ready to make restitution. He owns two properties — one in Borrowdale (US$800,000) and another in Chinhoyi (US$120,000) — and vehicles worth around US$200,000.
“He is an un-solicited person. He cannot sit down and premeditate such offences,” Mugiya said.
Professor Lovemore Madhuku, also representing Chimombe, said the ministry’s tender committee failed in its due diligence and should share blame.
“There should be checks and balances. If I had my way, I would have found them guilty of negligence,” he said.
He suggested Chimombe be barred from future government projects and argued that time already served “meets the justice of the case.”
Under cross-examination during mitigation, Mpofu finally issued the apology the state said had been conspicuously absent.
Appearing subdued, he told the court: “I want to say to Zimbabweans: I’m sorry. I regret that the Presidential Goat Scheme did not go as planned. I also apologise to President Emmerson Mnangagwa.”
He blamed poor internal controls within Blackdeck for the forged ZIMRA and tax clearance documents.
Mpofu said he hoped restitution could be organised with help from the bank “through our lawyers”, but admitted he did not personally have the money.
Pressed by the prosecutor on his assets, he revealed he owns a house worth US$1.5 million, which he transferred to a family trust in 2017 or 2018. Mabhaudhi said Mpofu should have declared all assets, including livestock, if he was sincere.
Mpofu admitted the offence was serious but insisted: “It hurts me because I did not do it. It was Blackdeck.”
He said he has nine children, eight of them still in school.
