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Harare Bureau
THE criminal trial of Intratrek Zimbabwe Private Limited director Wicknell Chivayo will now proceed after the High Court in Harare overruled his bid to block prosecution on corruption charges involving the Gwanda solar power project.

Chivayo was facing two counts of fraud, one count each of money laundering and breach of exchange control regulations involving $5,6 million he received for the Gwanda project but he now faces three counts after the High Court suspended the case on money laundering.

Chivayo had approached the High Court for stay of proceedings pending a determination of his application for review he lodged with the same court in November last year after the Magistrates Court rejected his request for exception to the charges.

In his ruling on Monday, Justice Joseph Musakwa upheld the lower court’s analysis of the exception to the fraud charges.

He said the presiding magistrate Mr Lazini Ncube properly applied provisions of Section 146 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act on the fraud charges.

“Therefore, in light of there being no formal defects of the charges, it follows that the review application has no prospects of success in respect of those counts,” ruled Justice Musakwa.

The court gave the lower court the green light to proceed with the trial in respect of the three viable counts.

“Therefore, it is ordered that the criminal trial of the applicants (Chivayo and his company) before the second respondent (Mr Ncube) under case number CRBP911-5/2018 is suspended only in respect of the third count,” he said.

Chivayo pleaded and excepted to the charges in terms of Section 171 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act.

He argued that the basis of the exception to the fraud charges emanated from the Engineering, Procurement and Construction contract.

Chivayo said the Procurement Act and Regulations had mechanisms for the enforcement of public procurement contracts.