TWO co-directors linked to controversial businessman Moses Mpofu have appeared in court following their arrest by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) on charges of defrauding Harare City Council of over US$400,000.
Vusumuzi James Mpofu and Nobukhosi Mpofu, who are the brother and wife respectively of Moses Mpofu, are accused of misrepresenting their credentials and falsifying documents to falsely claim they were authorised resellers of a key product required under a 2015 city tender.
The tender in question was for the procurement of a 100KVA generator and the construction of biogas digesters in Mbare.
The two allegedly colluded with two Harare City Council officials, former Director of Works, Phillip Pfukwa and former Chamber Secretary, Josephine Ncube, for payment to be made before commencement of work.
The court heard that an investigation carried out revealed that their company, Synlak Private Limited, secured the contract through misrepresentation, falsely claiming to be authorised resellers of Camda New Energy Technology Co. Ltd, a key requirement under the tender conditions.
The funds were allegedly deposited into Synlak’s CABS and BancABC accounts, from which Vusumuzi and Nobukhosi, as signatories, made cash withdrawals.
Pfukwa and Ncube, who were arrested earlier last month, are also facing charges for bypassing council procedures, falsifying internal memos, and deliberately misrepresenting Synlak’s technical capacity, despite the availability of four other competing bids, they were remanded out of custody on bail.
Moses Mpofu, the director of Synlak, is also facing similar fraud charges, in addition to a separate fraud-related case. He has remained in custody since last year.
Vusumuzi and Nobukhosi Mpofu were each granted US$800 bail._zbc
