The ZANU PF Member of Parliament for Uzumba and a local councillor appeared before a Harare magistrate accused of stealing mealie meal valued at US$12,000 that was intended for donation during a presidential address in Murehwa earlier this year.
The two are Wiriranai Muchemwa and Knowledge Chipundu.
They were not asked to plead when they appeared before Magistrate Tilda Mazhande who remanded them in custody to this Wednesday for bail hearing.
According to prosecutor Lancelot Mutsokoti, on April 10, a representative from Black Cube mining company, Wang Qun, received a WhatsApp message from Muchemwa requesting US$12,000.
Muchemwa purportedly indicated that the funds would be used as a revolving fund for infrastructure development in the constituency for the period from April 2024 to April 2025.
The prosecutor further alleged that a meeting was convened to discuss the request, which both accused attended, alongside Tinashe Choto and executives from YangSheng and Inducorn.
During the meeting, Muchemwa claimed that each company was required to contribute US$12,000.
However, YangSheng and the complainant informed the accused that they intended to donate mealie meal, while Inducorn decided to contribute US$4,000.
The mealie meal was meant for donation at a presidential event in Nhakiwa Business Centre, Murehwa.
"Subsequently, the complainant and YangSheng agreed to pool their resources to purchase the mealie meal.
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"The complainant paid US$12,000 to Jason Wu of YangSheng, who coordinated the purchase of 50 tonnes of maize to produce 40 tonnes of mealie meal," reads court papers.
It is alleged that Chipundu and Choto misled Mutizwa regarding the branding and collection of the mealie meal.
On July 9, 2024, Chipundu informed Christine Chimhenga, an accountant at Paguyo Millers, that he would collect the mealie meal the next day.
After Chimhenga instructed him to coordinate with Mutizwa, he later sent a message claiming to be at the warehouse for collection.
Since Chimhenga wasn't present, she directed him to her husband, Allen, who released 20 tonnes of mealie meal to Chipundu and Choto.
The two later took the mealie meal to Murehwa Milling Company for packaging into 10 kg bags.
They allegedly requested the milling company to sell the mealie meal on their behalf, generating US$10,000 from the sales.
The situation escalated when another local councillor, Lovemore Matanhire, approached Wang Qun for another donation, only to be informed that they had already contributed.
Wang then contacted Muchemwa, who denied any arrangement concerning the mealie meal.
Upon questioning Mutizwa, Muchemwa learned that Chipundu and Choto had taken possession of it.
Despite being presented with evidence of their actions, Muchemwa did not take steps to account for the missing mealie meal, leading to the arrest of both Chipundu and Choto.
