By Staff Reporter
Two Directors from a local company, Yagden Engineering (Pvt) Ltd have lodged a complaint with the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), accusing a magistrate of colluding with an accused person in a case that is currently under review by the High Court.
The two directors are Regis Maburutse and Wayne Williams. The complaint is being made against magistrate Chitumbura.
The complaint stems from claims that Chitumbura dealt with a case that was still under consideration by the High Court and is said to have issued a decision on it.
The matter in question is State vs Tony Renato Sarpo case number 4035/17 in which Sarpo is being accused of theft of trust property.
Part of the latter dated 27 March 2024 read,
“The offences that were allegedly committed by Chatambura which give rise to this complaint involve a letter she purportedly wrote addressed to the Resident Magistrate of Harare Province on the 4th of May 2023.
” Quite absurdly, the letter looks suspicious and dubious as she wrote that in respect of the 3rd count the accused person (Tony Sarpo) was found not guilty of the third count about the 35 unassembled motorbikes which meant the motorbikes were to be returned to the accused person. Strangely enough, the matter was already before the High Court under case number HC 6357/19 ref HC 8358/18.
“This letter issued out from Guruve was merely an internal letter to the Resident Magistrate and had no effect of an order, but it is the one being used by Mr Sarpo purportedly confirming that the motorbikes belonged to him.
” The issue before the court was not on ownership of the motorbikes because that was not in dispute as the motor bikes belonged to Matabeleland Engineering. The issue before the courts was whether Sarpo had stolen trust property as defined by the Criminal Codification Act.
“In the last court sitting at Rotten Row, the matter ended with an application for refusal of further remand and the accused (Sarpo) applied for the review of the matter by the High Court.
” This case is pending in the High Court where an application for review was filed on the 13th of September 2018 under case number HC 6357/19 ref HC 8358/18. The 1 Respondent (Tony Sarpo) in the application for dismissal of review for want of prosecution filed a notice of Opposition and the opposing affidavit with the honourable court on 27 December 2018 and served the Respondent.
“Instead of pursuing the finalization of this application, the Applicant (Mr Sarpo) did nothing as far as the prosecution of the review is concerned and the Applicant in that matter who is the Prosecutor General prayed in his Founding Affidavit that case number 8358/18 be dismissed for want of prosecution.
“Based on the foregoing, Matebeleland Engineering and its Directors have reasons to believe that the accused person R. CHITUMBURA acted in common purpose and defeated the ends of justice as defined in s184 (1)- (iv) of the Criminal Law (Codification) and Reform Act, connived with Mr Sarpo to entertain a matter that is already before a superior court.”
The JSC has not yet responded to the letter.
