HARARE magistrate Noel Mupeiwa yesterday relaxed bail conditions for Upenyu Prosper Mashangwa and his co-accused in a case in which the five are accused of defrauding Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries of $116 000 in a botched importation of a Land Rover Discovery 4 car.
Mashangwa is jointly charged with Cosmas Mushaninga, Victor Ngonidzashe Matiyenga, Kudakwashe Larry Mapfumo and Clifford Tinashe Gonde.
The defence attorneys for the accused made applications for the return of Mashangwa and Mushaninga’s passports, arguing that they should be on the same bail condition like their other three co-accused. They also sought to have the weekly reporting conditions lifted.Mupeiwa ruled Mashangwa and Mushaninga should get their passports back permanently and that the five accused should report once to the police every two weeks.
Defence lawyer Dumisani Mthombeni had argued that Mashangwa and Mushaninga are businessmen who travel frequently on business-related trips and had demonstrated their zeal to stand trial by coming back into the country three times after they had temporarily got their passports back.
State counsel Liberty Gono consented to the defence request.
Meanwhile, Mupeiwa remanded the matter for trial to July 9 after the State said it had amended the charges and included the statement of the investigating officer. Gono gave the State papers to the defence lawyers yesterday so that they could amend their defence outlines.
Mashangwa is being represented by Tafadzwa Hungwe, while Mthombeni is representing Mushaninga. Mapfumo is being represented by Anesu Bangidza and Gonde has Sylvester Maruza as his counsel.
Mashangwa is jointly charged with Cosmas Mushaninga, Victor Ngonidzashe Matiyenga, Kudakwashe Larry Mapfumo and Clifford Tinashe Gonde.
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Defence lawyer Dumisani Mthombeni had argued that Mashangwa and Mushaninga are businessmen who travel frequently on business-related trips and had demonstrated their zeal to stand trial by coming back into the country three times after they had temporarily got their passports back.
State counsel Liberty Gono consented to the defence request.
Meanwhile, Mupeiwa remanded the matter for trial to July 9 after the State said it had amended the charges and included the statement of the investigating officer. Gono gave the State papers to the defence lawyers yesterday so that they could amend their defence outlines.
Mashangwa is being represented by Tafadzwa Hungwe, while Mthombeni is representing Mushaninga. Mapfumo is being represented by Anesu Bangidza and Gonde has Sylvester Maruza as his counsel.
