SPARRING SESSION AS TRIAL OF KOMBO, KASI RESUMES
THE trial of gospel singer Ivy Kombo and her husband Pastor Admire Kasi, who are being accused of fraud, resumed yesterday amid the drama of a courtroom sparring session between the parties involved.
Magistrate Feresi Chakanyuka first sustained an objection by the couple’s lawyers over an email which the State wanted to place into the record.
The couple’s lawyers, Everson Chatambudza and Admire Rubaya, objected to the placement of the email into the record arguing that they had not been furnished with it before trial.
Magistrate Chakanyuka ruled in the couple’s favour saying it couldn’t be produced during trial since the other parties weren’t aware of it.
Prosecutor Anesu Chirenje then applied for a postponement of the case to “explore his options” at law.
The lawyers representing Kombo and Kasi, and Oliver Marwa, the lawyer representing their accomplice Huggins Duri, opposed the application.
They accused Chirenje of developing cold feet despite having been eager to commence trial.
Magistrate Chakanyuka allowed for the postponement of the case and ruled that the State should also be allowed to exercise its rights just as the accused persons.
The trial resumes on February 20.
Prosecutor Chirenje had also called in another witness, Edith Mandiyanike, from Fidelity Printers.
Allegations are that in 2013, the couple graduated from the University of Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, with Bachelor of Laws degrees.
And, for them to practice law in Zimbabwe, they had to attain a certificate of completion with the Council for Legal Education after writing and passing conversion examinations.
The allegations are that in 2021, Kombo approached one Shorai Tafadzwa Mupunga, a CLE official, to help her to register and write the conversion examinations.
Mupunga allegedly advised her that she was going to engage Duri, who was the then executive secretary for the Council.
The allegations claim that sometime last year Mupunga approached Duri who indicated that he was able to facilitate the issuing of the conversion certificates, without writing the conversion examinations, if the couple paid US$1 100.
The two allegedly paid the money through Mupunga who handed it to Duri who then processed the certificates.