Former Gokwe Nembudziya legislator Justice Mayor Wadyajena has been acquitted of fraud charges following a ruling by the Supreme Court.
The decision marks a significant victory for Wadyajena, who had been entangled in a protracted legal battle.
Wadyajena and his company, Mayor Logistics, were jointly charged with fraud and money laundering, allegations that drew the attention of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).
The commission subsequently seized his assets, including 25 haulage trucks and two luxury cars--a Lamborghini Urus and a BMW X6M.
In May of this year, the High Court ordered the return of Wadyajena's property, stating that there was no legal basis to hold onto them. However, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, arguing that it was inappropriate for Wadyajena to regain possession of his assets.
On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled in Wadyajena's favor, dismissing the NPA's appeal as baseless.
"Our clients always maintained that they are innocent, and it was always clear that there was no case against them. They made it clear that the property belongs to them and was legally acquired. We approached the courts several times for the state to provide a trial date, but nothing ever came of it. This means our clients are off the hook," said Wadyajena's lawyer, Oliver Marwa.
Wadyajena, who had faced accusations many believe were politically motivated, stated that his enemies sought to tarnish his reputation and end his political career.
"If ZACC had anything, surely in three years they would have found evidence that these properties were not legitimately acquired," he said.
At one point, ZACC resisted returning Wadyajena's vehicles, citing dubious conditions that were later overturned by the High Court.
Despite being embroiled in numerous legal battles, Wadyajena had kept a low profile in recent years. However, this latest Supreme Court ruling puts an end to his long-running legal woes.
"The outcome was that the Supreme Court ruled that the appeal by the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe, which was contesting the High Court order for NPA and ZACC to release the property that was seized by ZACC and the NPAZ from Mayor Logistics and Mayor Wadyajena,"
"When they brought the matter to the Supreme Court, they wanted the Supreme Court to rule that what the High Court had done was wrong but the Supreme Court agreed with us that they had no mandate in keeping that property because the High Court Judgment by Justice Brenda was clear that they had 30 days within which to keep that property, but they exceeded two years. They had been talking about criminal investigations in the matter that they have to visit America to verify how these properties were acquired, but they have not done anything.
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"This led the Magistrate's Court to refuse further remanding Mayor Wadyajena and Mayor Logistics on the charge of fraud and money laundering way back last year. There has been no traction with the ZACC investigation, there has been no end in sight for the intended prosecution for our clients so our clients have always maintained that they were innocent, that those properties were theirs and they were legitimately acquired."
"So, in the end Justice has won. We have been vindicated by the Apex Court this morning," he said.
"It has always been clear from our client's arrest that there is nothing that they could hold on to our clients in terms of the criminal offence that they were talking about.
"If they have got something, let them come forward, but there has been nothing. There has been nothing we have even gone to court to compel them to give us a way forward, to give us a trial date but it has not been forthcoming." Marwa said
