By Chantelle Muzanenhamo
Bulawayo’s Deputy Mayor Edwin Ndlovu was acquitted on Wednesday of allegations that he demanded a US$20,000 bribe from a company seeking land to build a cement plant, after the magistrate ruled that the State’s case had collapsed.
Magistrate Richard Ramaboea said the prosecution’s key evidence a handwritten document allegedly linking Ndlovu to the bribe was unreliable.
Prosecutors had alleged that Ndlovu and Ward 3 councillor Mpumelelo Moyo, chair of the Finance and Development Committee, solicited the bribe from Labenmon Investments in exchange for facilitating approval of a 5.6-hectare piece of land in Cowdray Park.
The State relied heavily on testimony from forensic handwriting expert Kurauone Madziranyika, who claimed samples taken from Ndlovu matched the disputed document listing councillors set to benefit from the payout. However, contradictions emerged after Labenmon representative Tsitsi Mapfumo testified that she had authored the first part of the document.
“The only evidence linking the accused to the offence was exhibit number five. Yet the expert concluded the whole document was written by one person. If we accept that, then both the accused and the witness share the same handwriting, which is impossible,” Magistrate Ramaboea said in his ruling.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) had launched a sting operation in 2024, leading to the arrest of Ndlovu and Moyo shortly after they allegedly took possession of the money at Mapfumo’s house.
With Ndlovu cleared, attention now turns to Moyo, who is expected to present his defence on August 25 through lawyer Prince Butshe Dube. He is anticipated to explain why he was at the complainant’s house and address claims from two witnesses who said they saw him with US$20,000 in cash.