No bail for ‘flight-risk’ Gokwe town secretary

GOKWE town secretary Melania Mandeya, who is facing charges of abuse of office, was on Monday denied bail

okwe magistrate Mr Musaiwona Shortgame ruled that Mandeya was facing serious charges and that she was a flight risk.

Mandeya, who is facing four counts of abuse of office, was represented by Mr Solomon Kangambeu of Chitere and Chidawanyika Legal Practitioners.

She was remanded in custody to February 14, but her lawyers said they would appeal.

Prosecutor Mr Michael Mhene said sometime in 2015, Mandeya deliberately gave her relative, one Ms Zvichapera Zunzanyika, a contract to supply curtains for Town House without following tender procedures.

On the second count, Mandeya allegedly invited tenders in March last year, for catering services whereupon about four firms provided quotations.

The court heard that Mandeya preferred one of the four, Irene’s Kitchen, and inflated figures on the other three bids and proceeded to award the tender to her preferred company without involving the procurement management unit.

In December 2017, Mandeya allegedly ordered the housing department to allocate her Stand 155 in Kambasha, which was adjacent to her official stand number 156.

She signed a lease agreement but never paid for it as stipulated in the lease agreement. The local authority was prejudiced of over $4 000.

The court heard that Mandeya also used her position to directly procure and order the installation of a solar system from Nerenchia Power Rite Company for the Town House.

Mandeya also reportedly used the same company to install a solar power system at her house.

POLICE in Mashonaland West Province have arrested 114 illegal miners during a blitz on machete-wielding gangs, provincial police officer Assistant Commissioner Priscilla Makotose has said.

Speaking recently at Chinhoyi Central Police Station during Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe’s familiarisation tour of the provincial office, Asst Comm Makotose said the arrest was one of her officers’ success stories so far this year.

She said they were making steady progress, especially in hotspots, despite the limited resources at their disposal.

The hotspots include Kadoma, Sanyati, Chikuti and some parts of Makonde district.

“One of our success stories is, we managed to account arrests of machete wielding gangs since the beginning of the year and this is no mean achievement, particularly if you have seen some of the videos going around on social media of how ruthless these people are,” she said.

She hailed the officers who arrested the gang that brutally murdered Kadoma police officer, Constable Wonder Hokoyo (27).

She warned officers at Chirundu and Kariba border posts against facilitating smuggling.