THE trial of Harare businessman Upenyu Mashangwa, who is being charged alongside his three alleged accomplices with defrauding Prophetic Hea...
THE trial of Harare businessman Upenyu Mashangwa, who is being charged alongside his three alleged accomplices with defrauding Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD) Ministries of $116 000, is expected to continue on August 17 with the evidence of the last four witnesses including Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) officials and the police investigating officer.
Mashangwa is jointly charged with Cosmas Mushininga, Kudakwashe Larry Mapfumo and Clifford Tinashe Gonde for allegedly defrauding the church in a botched import deal for a Land Rover Discovery 4 from South Africa or alternatively smuggling and failure to pay duty for the said vehicle.
Regional magistrate Noel Mupeiwa yesterday said the matter should be concluded soon and asked the State to set aside three full days in order to complete the matter when it resumes on the next sitting.
“May the State and defence counsels make sure that you clear your diaries and make sure that this trial will proceed on three consecutive days beginning August 17 to August 19, 2015,” Mupeiwa said.
The State is now expected to call to the witness stand two Zimra officials, the police investigating officer and possibly one Tendai Magaya.
Yesterday the defence team finished cross-examining the State’s second and third witnesses Gilbert Mafusire and Tafadzwa Tafirenyika respectively. While under cross-examination Mafusire denied framing Mashangwa because he had not been paid his full commission after the sale of a Marlborough house.
“I am not falsely implicating him, I understood his (Mashangwa) financial problems and I believe he will pay me in good time,” Mafusire said.
During the trial Mafusire had earlier had a confrontation with defence lawyer Dumisani Mtombeni after the latter accused him of testifying in exchange for money from Walter Magaya.
“It’s nice that you went to school, but all the people that are very rich I know are school dropouts,” Mtombeni said.
Tafirenyika said he was an overseer at PHD Ministries and his responsibilities included keeping custody of all the church’s vehicle registration books, licensing and fuelling of the same but had not seen the original South African registration book for the car. Defence lawyer Tafadzwa Hungwe then put it to him: “The South African documents were not given to you because the car did not belong to you or the church.”
Mashangwa is jointly charged with Cosmas Mushininga, Kudakwashe Larry Mapfumo and Clifford Tinashe Gonde for allegedly defrauding the church in a botched import deal for a Land Rover Discovery 4 from South Africa or alternatively smuggling and failure to pay duty for the said vehicle.
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| Prophet Walter Magaya |
“May the State and defence counsels make sure that you clear your diaries and make sure that this trial will proceed on three consecutive days beginning August 17 to August 19, 2015,” Mupeiwa said.
The State is now expected to call to the witness stand two Zimra officials, the police investigating officer and possibly one Tendai Magaya.
Yesterday the defence team finished cross-examining the State’s second and third witnesses Gilbert Mafusire and Tafadzwa Tafirenyika respectively. While under cross-examination Mafusire denied framing Mashangwa because he had not been paid his full commission after the sale of a Marlborough house.
“I am not falsely implicating him, I understood his (Mashangwa) financial problems and I believe he will pay me in good time,” Mafusire said.
During the trial Mafusire had earlier had a confrontation with defence lawyer Dumisani Mtombeni after the latter accused him of testifying in exchange for money from Walter Magaya.
“It’s nice that you went to school, but all the people that are very rich I know are school dropouts,” Mtombeni said.
Tafirenyika said he was an overseer at PHD Ministries and his responsibilities included keeping custody of all the church’s vehicle registration books, licensing and fuelling of the same but had not seen the original South African registration book for the car. Defence lawyer Tafadzwa Hungwe then put it to him: “The South African documents were not given to you because the car did not belong to you or the church.”
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