Letwin Mubonesi.
Former Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) board chairman Stanley Kazhanje was yesterday sentenced to three years imprisonment for concealing a US$10 000 bribe he had received from bussinessman, Wicknell Chivayo’s Intratrek Zimbabwe.
Senior regional magistrate Mr Hosea Mujaya presided over the matter. Magistrate Mujaya initially sentenced Kazhanje to three years in jail before suspending two years on condition of good behaviour.
It is the state’s case that Chivayo who is the Intratrek Zimbabwe director allegedly transfered US $10 000 into the former ZPC chairperson Stanley Kazhanje’s bank account to influence him not to cancel a 100 mega watt Solar project tender awarded to his company.
The court heard that sometime in 2013, ZPC called for bids for the
construction of the Gwanda Solar Project Plant and Chivayo’s company applied. After the applications had been made, on October 22, 2015, ZPC held a board meeting so as to find the rightful candidate for the bid. He then directed the management to proceed in signing a contract with Chivayo’s company, Intratrek Zimbabwe.
It is allegedly that the contract between ZPC and Intratrek was signed the following day October 23, 2015 with Chivayo’s company not providing a bank guarantee. However, Chivayo then reportedly transferred $10 000 as bribe from his company’s bank account to Kazhanje’s personal Barclays bank account on January 21, 2016.
After the payment was made, the former ZPC chairman influenced the ZPC board to award the tender in favour of Intratrek Zimbabwe.
In his defence, Kazhanje denied the bribery allegations and told the court that he declared his previous dealing with Intratrek to Dzikamai Mavhaire, his deputy and then permanent secretary. The State witnesses were called to testify during the court sessions.
However, one of the witnesses, who is also a former ZPC board member and currently Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission commissioner, Thandiwe Mlobane, did not agree with the state allegations against Kazhanje after she told Mujaya that Kazhanje was a victim in the case.
Mlobane said she did not remember Kazhanje declaring his interests during board meetings, adding the bribery case only arose after one of the board members Noah Gwariro was suspended over Chivayo’s payment.
“Your worship, Kazhanje was a very good chairperson. He did not show any bias during our board meetings and I was surprised to hear that he had some deals with Intratrek. He never influenced anyone to pay Chivayo, actually Gwariro told us in the board meeting that he was pressured to pay him by then (Energy) minister Samuel Undenge.
“I do not blame the board for Chivayo’s payment, but the ZPC management. I blame two groups of people in Chivayo’s payment: the one that gave him US$5,2 million without a bank guarantee and the one that signed documents in relation to the work done at Gwanda project”.
“There are six people, your worship, the three that signed for payment certificate and three that signed documents that they saw boreholes drilled, fence erected and other feasibility studies whilst there was none,” Mlobane said.
She added that Kazhanje was not even one of the signatories.
Mr Brian Vito was the state prosecutor and he told the court that Kazhanje deserved a jail term for the offence he had committed.
“Zimbabwe has an acute shortage of power and the 100 megawatts should have helped in alleviating the country’s power problems. The seriousness of this offence should be taken in the context of the fight against corruption in the country,” he said.
While passing judgement, Mr Mujaya said the State had proven a prima facie Kazhanje and that Kazhanje failed to submit evidence of receipt of the money or the nature of work done by his company, Terminal Engineering, at Intratek Zimbabwe.
Mr Mujaya said ZPC’s former corporate secretary, Saidi Sangula, testified that Kazhanje disclosed his interests at Intratrek and said that even the former Energy Minister Dzikamai Mavhaire, who Kazhanje claimed to have declared his dealings with Intratrek to, denied the claim.
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