As the State presses for lengthy prison sentences of up to 35 years, convicted businessmen Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu have turned to their personal circumstances in a bid to escape stiff punishment, revealing in court that they are responsible for 24 children between them and control assets worth about US$3 million.
The two men appeared before the High Court in a pre-sentencing hearing that extended late into the night, where they outlined their family responsibilities, health conditions, education levels and business interests as mitigation factors.
Chimombe told the court that he has three wives and 15 children, all still minors and fully dependent on him. He said he only attained O-Level education before venturing into politics and business, where he claims he once earned up to US$20,000 a month. He also disclosed that he owns a Borrowdale house valued at US$800,000 and another in Chinhoyi worth about US$120,000. He added that he suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure.
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Mpofu also told the court that he has nine children, with the eldest aged 25 and the youngest six. He estimated his net worth at close to US$1.5 million and said he previously earned up to US$15,000 a month from farming and other businesses. In an emotional address, Mpofu apologised to the President and the nation for his role in the ill-fated Presidential Pass-On Goat Scheme, admitting that his company, Blackdeck, failed to carry out proper due diligence on key documents that later turned out to be fraudulent.
Both men asked the court to consider that they have already spent close to 18 months in remand prison and argued that their continued incarceration would severely affect their families and business operations. Chimombe maintained that he was not the principal architect of the crime and urged the court to assess his level of involvement separately.
The State, however, dismissed their pleas for leniency and called on the court to impose a deterrent sentence, arguing that the offence involved massive abuse of public funds meant to uplift vulnerable communities. Prosecutors insisted that the two acted in common purpose and should therefore receive equal punishment, particularly because no money or assets have been recovered. The State proposed a maximum sentence of 35 years in line with the statutory provisions.
Chimombe and Mpofu were convicted in October for their roles in a corruption scandal that crippled a national goat distribution programme. Government had set aside ZWL1.6 billion, equivalent to US$7.71 million at the time, for the procurement and delivery of goats. By the end of 2022, only 4,208 goats valued at US$331,445 had been delivered before operations were abandoned, leaving a deficit of 103,382 goats and an outstanding amount of US$7.38 million.
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