HARARE – Former Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) board chairman Stanley Kazhanje has applied for bail pending appeal against both conviction and sentence on corruption charges after he was jailed for three years last week.

Kazhanje was convicted of receiving a US$10,000 bribe from controversial businessman Wicknell Chivayo’s company, Intratrek Zimbabwe.

In a bail application lodged with the High Court, he argues that magistrate Hosea Mujaya convicted him to satisfy his personal interests ignoring evidence before the court exonerating him.

“The applicant (Kazhanje) has bright prospects of success on appeal. Sight should not be lost that in an application for bail pending appeal, it is not the function of the judicial officer to satisfy himself beyond any measure of doubt whether or not the grounds of appeal are doomed to fail. If the applicant has some fighting chance on appeal, then all the other relevant factors being neutral, the applicant must be entitled to relief,” his lawyers argue.

“The applicant was wrongfully convicted for failure to disclose an interest to a principal. One of the key witnesses was Saidi Sangula who testified as the company secretary for ZPC and Zesa Holdings and custodian of all company records meetings and discussions.

“Saidi Sangula was not a lay witness, he is a lawyer who was clear in his knowledge of the law. He testified that he was present at all meetings in which the accused began acting as a chairman. He was the only witness who was in place at the relevant times,” Kazhanje’s lawyers said.

Prosecutors said on October 23, 2015, Kazhanje signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract for a 100-megawatt solar power station project with Chivayo’s Intratrek.

ZPC paid Intratrek advance payments of $1,236,154 for pre-commencement works.

It was claimed that Intratrek did not fulfil its obligation, resulting in ZPC management initiating moves to terminate the contract.

On January 21, 2016, and under unclear circumstances, Kazhanje received US$10,000 into his First Capital Bank personal account from Intratrek’s CBZ Bank account. Prosecutors said this was a bribe.

Kazhanje, who argued in court that the payment was for consultancy work performed prior to his appointment to the board, failed to declare his interests and presided over a meeting where the power utility resolved to directly pay Intratrek subcontractors instead of terminating the contract.

ZPC went on to pay $4,387,849 as advance payment despite Intratrek’s failure to fulfil its obligations, the court heard.