Moses Madyira

CHIKOMBA – The Chief Prosecutor at Chivhu Magistrates’ Court has appealed against the acquittal of Chikomba District Development Coordinator (DDC), Michael Mariga in a US$60 bribery case whose sentence was handed down at the beginning of this month.

Corrence Chimbadzwa wrote a letter to the National Prosecuting Authority asking for a revisit of the case. 

The letter dated March 21, 2022 described Chivhu Regional Magistrate, Sam Chitumwa’s judgment as so inconsistent with logic and common sense that it was perverse.

Chimbadzwa disputed Chitumwa’s ruling that the State failed to prove its case. He said in the letter that the acquittal resulted from a view of the facts that could not reasonably be entertained and the inference which the court drew from the primary facts was ‘so inconsistent with logic and common sense such that the judgement is perverse’.

The ruling by Chitumwa shocked residents of Chivhu.

Mariga was arrested for allegedly demanding a bribe from Teresa Dangwa, the director of Dangwa Initiative Trust who wanted to register her NGO in Chikomba District. The complainant reported her case to the CIO who advised her to approach the Police.

Chivhu CID led by Martin Kadzimu set a trap at Chikomba RDC offices and Mariga was nabbed soon after receiving three US$20 notes that were marked. He initially refused to the arresting officers that he had any money on him and he only produced it after they threatened to make a thorough search of everyone at the offices.

In court, Mariga said he did not receive the money but it was dropped onto his books by the complainant.

It needed the investigating officer to shout out three times as the accused insisted that he knew nothing about the trap money until there was a threat of a thorough search that he produced the US$60.

A senior Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government Tavabarira Kutamahufa gave evidence against the accused and said that the latter was on suspension from work because he had committed an offence. 

Chikomba RDC CEO Bullen Tatenda Chiwara told the court that Mariga was not supposed to receive any money from Dangwa in the first place.

“It is the State’s submission that it managed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt that the accused unlawfully and intentionally acted contrary to or inconsistent with his duties as a public officer by soliciting US$60 so as to facilitate the signing of the MOU.

“The court cannot at this stage say accused lawfully received the US$60 to cater for costs of meeting when all along the accused was saying that money was hurriedly dropped on the sofa by Theresa Dangwa,” said Chimbadzwa.

Mariga was represented by Tafara Nsingo of Nsingo and Associates Law Practitioners.https://masvingomirror.com/