Home Crime & Courts Harare acting town clerk up for criminal abuse of office

Harare acting town clerk up for criminal abuse of office

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Story by Peter Chivhima, Courts Reporter

Harare City Council Acting Town Clerk, Engineer Phakhamile Mabhena Moyo is facing three counts of criminal abuse of office after allegedly allocating 29 residential and commercial stands to councillors and some council employees without following procedure.

It is the state’s case that on the 17th of June last year Mabhena in collusion with others who are still at large, generated a policy without lawful authority to benefit Harare City senior employees and councillors at the expense of rate payers.

The court heard that Moyo directed the Finance Department through a memorandum dated 17 June 2022 to identify residential and commercial stands for council executives in line with the resolution made by the Executive Management Committee.

The Department was supposed to conclude the task within 14 days.

The court further heard that the accused persons executed their plan in a series of reports to which 14 council employees, 14 councillors and one National Assembly member benefitted at the expense of rate payers.

Moyo and his accomplices will remain in custody until Monday for bail application.

Meanwhile, a 15-year-old student from Churu Farm in Glen View has appeared in court on allegations of murder.
The court heard the accused was defending himself from being assaulted when he fatally stabbed the now deceased, a 17-year-old fellow student, with a broken bottle on Tuesday.

In his initial court appearance this Thursday, the student whose identity could not be divulged because of his age, was released into the custody of his father.