By Staff Reporter
Former Harare Mayor Councillor Herbert Gomba has been freed from perjury charges after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) decided to withdraw the case, bringing an end to the year-long legal proceedings.
Councillor Gomba, a member of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), had been accused of attempting to manipulate the 2018 general elections in his favor.
The allegations centered around his alleged provision of false information in an Affidavit of Residence and misrepresentation of his address while registering as a voter in Ward 27 of Harare Municipality.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) confirmed this recent development, stating, “The prosecution of former Harare Mayor Councillor Herbert Gomba has been stopped after the NPA withdrew perjury charges against him last year. The charges were related to allegations of plotting to manipulate the electoral process in his favor during the 2018 general elections.”
Councillor Gomba, who contested and won the 2018 local authority elections as a candidate of the opposition MDC-Alliance political party and served as Mayor of Harare from 2018 to 2020, was arrested on March 16, 2022, and charged with perjury.
The NPA prosecutors claimed that Councillor Gomba had provided false information in an Affidavit of Residence, specifically relating to his residency at House Number 5756 in Glen Norah B suburb.
However, Councillor Gomba, represented by Harrison Nkomo of ZLHR, consistently denied these accusations throughout the legal proceedings.
In a surprising turn of events, on May 3, 2023, Councillor Gomba appeared before Harare Magistrate Stanford Mambanje, where the NPA chose to withdraw effectively granting him freedom from prosecution.
