D-Day for Wadyejena, accomplices
GOKWE-NEMBUDZIYA legislator, Justice Mayor Wadyejena, is back in court today where the presiding magistrate is set to rule on his application for refusal of further remand on the matter he is accused of defrauding Cottco of US$5 million.
Wadyejena appeared before regional magistrate Taurai Manuwere together with his alleged accomplices, Pius Manamike, Maxmore Njanji, Fortunate Molai and Chiedza Danha of Pierpont Moncroix Private Limited, who also filed the same application. Harare lawyer Oliver Marwa withdrew the first application they had filed seeking the same relief and placed a fresh application before the court.
“It has come to our attention that there is no docket to bring the accused persons to trial, but the investigating officer said the investigations should be completed months after their arrest last year and five witnesses were going to be lined up for that trial.
“The accused persons have been on remand since August last year, but prosecution and ZACC hasn’t reported to this court as they should in terms of the law on the progress of their investigations in this matter.
“Upon our inquiry to the prosecutors here present on the investigations we were told that the State is waiting on a process for mutual legal assistance with the government of the United States of America so that investigations may be carried out.
“It is clear that the State and ZACC knew that investigations in this matter would take them to America as soon as August 2022, when the last accused person was arrested.
“Prosecution doesn’t know the date, the time or the year that process will be completed and we don’t know what will come first, the coming of Jesus Christ or the granting of that application. The court can only speculate on whether the accused persons will ever have been brought to trial,” said Marwa.
The State represented by Kennedy Madekutsikwa opposed the application arguing that the State would be prejudiced if the court refuses further remand against the accused persons since the matter is of national interest as it involves public funds.