Zinara man quits after Parly probe

THE man at the centre of corruption allegations unearthed by an audit on the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration, Mr Precious Murove, has quit the organisation in the middle of an inquiry by Parliament, ostensibly to avoid facing further questions.

Mr Murove was already under oath after he appeared before the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee on Tuesday last week where he gave evidence responding to several key issues raised in the audit report.

The hearing was postponed to yesterday, but when the committee convened, members were surprised to hear that their chief witness was no longer with the organisation, hence could not come to proffer more evidence. The audit unearthed misappropriation of funds at the road authority to the tune of US$71 million.

Mr Murove, who was the director administration and human resources, features prominently in the report as the key person who signed most of the contracts that prejudiced Zinara.

The report also raised questions over Mr Murove’s professional qualifications who happened to be a holder of a diploma in theology by the time he assumed his executive position.

Zinara management appeared before the parliamentary committee led by its acting chief executive officer Ms Methelane Mujokoro yesterday where it emerged that Mr Murove was no longer with the road authority.

Ms Mujokoro was accompanied by Zinara finance director Mr Simon Taranhike, who was once suspended for sourcing foreign currency from the parallel market. He was later acquitted by the courts. Chairperson of the committee, Mr Tendai Biti, questioned the sudden termination of Mr Murove’s contract, especially when he was at the centre of the allegations.

He ordered the Zinara officials to bring Mr Murove and several other companies awarded the contracts at their next appearance on Friday. “Precious Murove has to be part of your (Zinara) team,” said Mr Biti.

“He may have resigned from Zinara. He may have been fired from Zinara, but has not been excused from this committee.

“He took an oath, so we are summoning him to appear together with you. We will also make sure that the Clerk of Parliament issues a warrant in terms of Parliamentary Privileges Act so that non-attendance of Univern and Precious Murove become contempt of Parliament.

“Given the importance of what we are doing and given the extent of the massive and shocking revelations in this report and in the interest of ensuring that you will be able to answer our questions fully, we are adjourning this meeting to Friday the 5th of April 2019 at 9AM.

To ensure that you will not have further excuse, I am formally handing over to you the copy of the audit report. We intend to sit the whole day on Friday.

“We are also directing that Univern also be present on Friday 5th of April 2019 at 9AM. We are going to write a letter to them. We hope the press will also help us in communicating our desire to interview them.”

In her response, Ms Mujokoro said: “If the committee feels that we have deliberately decided to frustrate the efforts by making sure that Mr Precious Murove’s contract is terminated, we are not privy to this report and to this extent, we are not aware that he is a key person into your proceedings.

“It is the board that makes the decision to renew or not to renew an employee’s contract of employment.”

Mr Biti said the committee would also in due course summon the Zinara board and the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development.

Meanwhile, a meeting between the portfolio committee on Lands, Agriculture, and Climate and Grain Millers Association failed to take place yesterday after it was deferred to another day.

Last week, the committee chaired by Gokwe Nembudziya MP Cde Justice Mayor Wadyajena had asked GMAZ chairperson, Mr Tafadzwa Musarara, to submit several documents which included a schedule of foreign currency payments they received from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. SUSPENDED University of Zimbabwe (UZ) vicechancellor Levi Nyagura yesterday said he was being wrongly charged for illegally awarding former First Lady Grace Mugabe a PhD, insisting that the latter’s husband, former President Robert Mugabe who was the varsity’s Chancellor approved and conferred his wife with the PhD.

Citing Section 8 of the University of Zimbabwe Act, Nyagura, through his lawyer Advocate Sylvester Hashiti, said a vice chancellor was not responsible for the issuance of degrees.

Adv Hashiti gave notice to subpoena the former President, his wife Grace and President Mnangagwa so that they give evidence as chief officers.

The defence argued that the PhD was still in existence, adding that the current Chancellor, President Mnangagwa had the powers to revoke it.

Nyagura yesterday appeared before magistrate Mr Lazini Ncube for trial after the Constitutional Court threw out his challenge in which he was contesting a decision by the Prosecutor-General to delegate his prosecutorial powers to Messrs Tapuwa Godzi and Michael Chakandida of the Presidential Special AntiCorruption Unit.

However, through his lawyer, Nyagura filed an application for exception and quashing of an indictment on the basis that the proper and responsible persons have not been brought to court.

“The accused was never the chancellor and has never been one at any given time particularly at the time when the PhD in issue was conferred on Grace Mugabe.

“The chancellor is the chief officer of the university. The accused was the vice chancellor and his powers are set out in terms of Section 8 of the University of Zimbabwe Act and this section provides no powers to confer or award degrees of any sort. In terms of this section, he is an officer of the university and does not act in his personal capacity.

“At the relevant period it was Robert Gabriel Mugabe who was the chancellor…Robert Mugabe is the answerable person and must instead face the charges. Accused is the wrong person to charge,” read part of the application.

“The charges by the State fail to consider three important facts. Firstly, the PhD in question remains extant. Its validity cannot be put in question by criminal process and lastly the former chancellor Robert Mugabe approved and conferred the degree and transcript,” he said in his written application.

He further questioned why none of the other persons involved in the enrolment, tutelage, supervision, recommendation and conferment of the PhD have been brought to court.

“The cited sections (of the University of Zimbabwe Act) clearly denote where the power to confer degrees lies.

“If any degree is not awarded pursuant to proper conduct, the awarding and conferring authorities are the ones liable at law for the conduct. In the first instance it would be the university, in the second, the chancellor and in the third senate or council depending on the facts of the matter.

“Nowhere does accused (Nyagura) come into it, especially in his personal capacity. The State cannot impute personal liability where same has been deliberately excluded by law.

“The State has not led any evidence from any member of any committee or council or senate who took objection to the conferment of the degree in issue.” Nyagura pleaded for acquittal. “For a criminal charge to suffice, it must not only allege commission of a crime but in terms of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, must set out the facts and evidence that give rise to the charge itself.

“The charges and facts do not disclose any criminal offence and ought to be quashed on this additional basis. The accused prays that the charge be and is hereby quashed, the exception upheld and the accused acquitted,” read the application.

The State will file its written response today while oral submissions will be conducted on April 4.