Staff Reporter
GWERU – The Masvingo High Court has granted former Gweru councillor Charles Simbi and his wife, Zodwa, bail. The couple, who were represented in chambers by Gweru lawyer Esau Mandipa, were convicted by the Gweru Magistrates Court for forgery and sentenced to 12 months in prison each, in addition to a US$400 fine.
Justice Sunsley Zisengwe granted them bail pending appeal and ordered each of them to deposit US$100, or its equivalent in ZiG, with the Clerk of Court at the Gweru Magistrates Court.
They were also instructed to reside at their Southview home in Gweru and to report to Gweru Police Station once every fortnight on Fridays between 6am and 6pm until the appeal is finalised.
Simbi and his wife filed an appeal at the Masvingo High Court challenging both their conviction and sentence after being found guilty of using a forged resettlement offer letter. In their application, they argued that the trial court had misdirected itself and that the sentence imposed was excessive.
They sought to have the conviction overturned or, alternatively, to have the custodial sentence substituted with a fine. The couple maintained that the trial magistrate erred in finding them guilty, insisting that the State failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and that witness testimonies were materially inconsistent and inadmissible.
Gweru Magistrate Beaulity Dube, who convicted and sentenced them, heard during trial that the pair had fraudulently attempted to acquire a 10-hectare plot at Kanuck Farm using a forged document purporting to be an official land offer letter.
For the first count, involving forgery and possession of a fake document, the court imposed an 18-month custodial sentence, with six months suspended for five years on condition they do not commit a similar offence.
This left each of them with an effective 12-month jail term. On the second count, involving the use of a forged document, each was fined US$400. Mandipa continues to represent the couple, contrary to reports suggesting that he had parted ways with them.
New Ziana
