ZACC officer in court over corruption

Court Correspondent
A Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) member appeared in court on Saturday facing allegations of shielding a fugitive on three warrants of arrest.

Marlon Smart Mandofa, a Zacc investigator, appeared before magistrate Mr Ngoni Nduna facing criminal abuse of office charges.

He is expected back in court today for bail application.

It is the State’s case that sometime in August 2021, the complainant Ofer Sivan reported a serious case of fraud, alternatively theft of trust property, tax evasion and externalisation of almost US$1,3 million from Zimbabwe to South Africa against his co-directors Gilad Shabtai and Munyaradzi Gonyora.

The case is being investigated at CID Commercial Crimes Division.

Gonyora was arrested and has already appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court.

Shabtai was not located and is a fugitive from justice, facing serious allegations of fraud and externalisation. Three warrants of arrest against Shabtai were issued by two different magistrates.

It is alleged Shabtai’s allegations should have attracted the attention of Zacc officials as Zacc fights serious graft of this nature and it upholds the highest standards of integrity.

The State alleges it was well known to the accused persons that on 21 September 2022, Justice Tawanda Chitapi, in a High Court Order, ruled that the conduct by Gonyora and Shabtai, be declared to have committed acts of fraud against Adlecraft Investments (Pvt) Ltd.

It was also said the two accused persons had been ordered to pay back the externalised US$1,3 million back to Adlecraft Investments.

It is alleged that in an act of showing favour to Shabtai, Zacc officials chose to turn a blind eye.

Mandofa and his accomplices allegedly lied that an anonymous person filed a report of forgery against Sirvan at Zacc.

It is further alleged that instead, Mandofa teamed up with his accomplices and received a report from Gonyora, who was appearing at the Harare Magistrates Court on routine remand and made a less serious report of forgery against Sirvan knowing that a more serious case of externalising US$1,3 million was in place against Gonyora and Shabtai.

It is further alleged that the accused persons were aware of this investigation which started in August 2021 and they went on to arrest Sirvan at the peak of CID CCD DR 44/08/21 investigation against fugitive Shabtai.

The State alleges Shabtai did not present himself in person to the police to answer to the charges levelled against him.

It was upon informant, Sirvan’s arrest, that he queried about his arrest since Shabtai, at that material time, could not have contacted Zacc as he had a pending warrant of apprehension from CID Commercial Crimes Division.

It is alleged Sirvan’s plea was disregarded by the Zacc officials.

Sirvan was immediately detained and was subsequently arraigned before the Harare Magistrates Court while Shabtai was allegedly receiving preferential and royal treatment from the Zacc officials.

It is alleged one of the warrants of arrest for Shabtai was shown to Mandofa who ignored it.

It is further alleged that the Zacc officials made sure that Shabtai continuously benefitted from the justice system despite being a fugitive of the same justice system.

The State alleges that as peace officers, the Zacc officers had the duty of joining hands with other law enforcing agents and assisted in hunting down Shabtai.

Shabtai’s travel history was obtained at the Immigration Department and found that he had been visiting the country and his warrant of arrest was being ignored