Source: Chivayo’s bribe trial postponed – NewsDay Zimbabwe May 22, 2019
BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE
The trial of businessman Wicknell Chivayo who is facing charges of paying $10 000 to former Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) board chairperson Stanley Kazhanje to allegedly influence him not to cancel a 100 megawatt solar station tender won by his Intratrek Zimbabwe company failed to kick-off for the third time yesterday.
Prosecutor Brian Vito told magistrate Hosea Mujaya that he was yet to summon Chivayo’s co-accused and will do that before Friday this week.
The matter was postponed to June 5 for a possible trial.
Kazhanje is already on trial on allegations of not declaring his interests to his superiors after he was given a contract by Chivayo’s Intratrek Zimbabwe which had won the ZPC tender to do consultation work.
Allegations are that sometime in 2013, ZPC called for bids for the construction of the Gwanda Solar Project and Chivayo, through his company Intratrek Zimbabwe, responded.
The State says on October 22, 2015, the ZPC board held a meeting which was chaired by Kazhanje, who directed that the ZPC management should proceed to sign a contract with Intratrek Zimbabwe on the Gwanda solar project.
It is said on October 23, the contract was signed between ZPC management and Intratrek Zimbabwe with the former not providing a bank guarantee.
The State avers that Chivayo knew that Kazhanje was the ZPC board chairperson and had some influence on the cancellation of the contract for non-compliance and had actually deliberated in favour of awarding the contract to Intratrek Zimbabwe.
Chivayo then allegedly transferred $10 000 bribe money from Intratrek Zimbabwe’s bank account into Kazhanje’s Barclays Bank account.
It is alleged after the payment, Kazhanje later influenced ZPC board to pass resolutions in favour of the accused in connection with the ZPC contract.
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