Sick businessman Mike Chimombe showed up Monday at court after missing his earlier fraud trial. Prison guards brought him before High Court Judge Pisirayi Kwenda during the afternoon session. Chimombe barely spoke and kept his head down with hands covering his face throughout the short hearing. He has stayed locked up since police arrested him last June.
Judge Kwenda demanded earlier that Chimombe appear before him even though jail officials said he felt sick. His poor health delayed the start of his trial with business partner Moses Mpofu. The lawyers told the court last week their client needed seven days at least to feel better from his illness. When Chimombe missed court again, the judge became angry and ordered him to be brought regardless.
The frustrated judge accused Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services of breaking his direct order. He scolded both sides for not telling him ahead of time that Chimombe would miss the session. He lectured a prison officer named Chikoto about their basic duty to bring defendants when courts require them. Kwenda ordered them to produce Chimombe by 2 PM that day or explain with official paperwork why they could not.
Attorney Lovemore Madhuku tried defending Chimombe by explaining the Supreme Court heard their bail appeal simultaneously. The judge refused these explanations and stuck to his demand for Chimombe to appear physically. Madhuku argued it made no sense for his client to face two different hearings at once. He suggested the judge could revise his order but Kwenda threatened to continue without lawyers present.
Prison officials eventually brought Chimombe, who simply told the court he had nothing to say because his lawyers already spoke for him. The court postponed the case until March 17, when the trial should begin properly. Authorities accuse Chimombe and Mpofu of cheating to win a government contract for supplying goats under a presidential scheme.
Judge Kwenda demanded earlier that Chimombe appear before him even though jail officials said he felt sick. His poor health delayed the start of his trial with business partner Moses Mpofu. The lawyers told the court last week their client needed seven days at least to feel better from his illness. When Chimombe missed court again, the judge became angry and ordered him to be brought regardless.
The frustrated judge accused Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services of breaking his direct order. He scolded both sides for not telling him ahead of time that Chimombe would miss the session. He lectured a prison officer named Chikoto about their basic duty to bring defendants when courts require them. Kwenda ordered them to produce Chimombe by 2 PM that day or explain with official paperwork why they could not.
Attorney Lovemore Madhuku tried defending Chimombe by explaining the Supreme Court heard their bail appeal simultaneously. The judge refused these explanations and stuck to his demand for Chimombe to appear physically. Madhuku argued it made no sense for his client to face two different hearings at once. He suggested the judge could revise his order but Kwenda threatened to continue without lawyers present.
Prison officials eventually brought Chimombe, who simply told the court he had nothing to say because his lawyers already spoke for him. The court postponed the case until March 17, when the trial should begin properly. Authorities accuse Chimombe and Mpofu of cheating to win a government contract for supplying goats under a presidential scheme.
