HARARE – Former local government minister Ignatius Chombo, arrested on fresh corruption charges this week, was spending a second night in custody on Wednesday after a Harare magistrate punted his bail ruling to the next day.

Chombo faces five fraud and criminal abuse of office charges emanating from his time as minister.

Opposing bail, prosecutor Charles Muchemwa told the court that Chombo was a flight risk, adding he would also likely influence State witnesses who served as his subordinates if released.

“It is important to note that the allegations he is facing today relate to cases he is already on remand for. Such a scenario will force him to abscond if released on bail,” Muchemwa said.

“The accused is also a man of means, with connections outside the country who might accommodate him if he is freed. Evidence of the state is very strong such that a conviction is highly probable.”

The prosecution alleges that sometime from 2000 to 2015 when he was government minister, Chombo illegally caused desperate land seekers to deposit money into his housing cooperative’s Agribank account purportedly for land development purposes.

He duped the would-be beneficiaries into believing he would allocate them stands at Kia Okra Farm, prosecutors say.

The former cabinet minister also allegedly used his influence to amass vast tracts of land, including 125 residential stands at Hydon Farm, Zvimba Rural District, and five low-density stands at Philadephia farm near Harare.

The State also alleges that Chombo took several farms in the Harare district and registered them in his company’s names, Comverol Enterprise, Cayford, and Cavford (Pvt) Limited well aware that the farm had not been paid for and had not been handed over to the government.

Chombo is also accused of handing over acquired State land to Sensene Investment without authority and instructing his ministry officials to unlawfully sign a deed of settlement in relation to Stoneridge Farm Harare with Pinnacle Holdings without Cabinet approval.

The investigating officer Maxwell Gudo stood with the prosecution telling the court that there was a likelihood of witness tampering if Chombo was granted bail.

“We are still Investigating and a lot of issues are still outstanding. We are yet to record some witness statements which is difficult because of Covid-19,” he said.

Chombo’s legal defence team includes Lovemore Madhuku, Tungamirai Muganhiri and Munyaradzi Bwanya.

Muganhiri argued that his client’s conduct was not consistent with someone who would abscond because he had handed himself over to police officers.

The lawyer also told the court that Chombo cannot influence witnesses because they are no longer his juniors.

“This is because he has nothing to fear and has no plans to run away from this court’s jurisdiction,” Muganhiri said, adding that his client has been traveling to and from South Africa without running away.