EX-HARARE mayor Herbert Gomba, who was arrested for allegedly registering as a voter using his parents’ house address, has been freed on $50 000 bail.
However, this was not before the court took a swipe at the conduct of the investigating officer for doing a shoddy job.
Regional magistrate Stanford Mambanje said the investigating officer did not bother to verify whether Gomba stayed at the place or not, but arrested him on the basis of evidence from an unknown witness.
“Some investigations do not require skill, but just common sense as the investigating officer should just have inquired from the occupants whether Gomba stayed there or not,” Mambanje said.
In its opposition to bail, the State said Gomba should be kept in custody as releasing him would trivialise the offence and influence other politicians to commit the same offence.
Gomba, through his lawyers, said he was staying at the house in 2017.
He argued that he had not yet built any structure at his new residence in Glen Norah C. Gomba is also alleged to have caused the registration of 22 other people using the same address for his advantage in the forthcoming ward 17 by-election he is contesting in. In his defence, Gomba argued that his arrest and detention was persecution by his political opponents to derail his campaign for the March 26 by-election having defeated them before.
It is the State’s case that in 2017 at Ruvheneko Primary School in Glen Norah, Gomba submitted an affidavit of residence voter registration (Form VR9) to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission officials in terms of the electoral regulations while registering himself as a voter and also a participant in the Harare Municipality ward 17 local authority elections.
During the process, Gomba allegedly submitted an affidavit with false information that he was a resident at house number 5756 Muroro Crescent Glen Norah B, Harare.
Further allegations are that between October 22, 2017 to December 31, 2017, 22 people submitted written affidavits in various locations purporting to be resident at the same address that Gomba used in his affidavit as his place of residence.
The court heard that nine of the registered voters allegedly share the same surname with Gomba.
The house at number 5756 Muroro Crescent Glen Norah B consists of a four roomed building with two bedrooms, combined lounge and dining room area and a kitchen. The 22 persons including Gomba were not resident at the four-roomed house.
The State alleges that he, being the direct beneficiary of the registration of the 22 individuals, caused their fraudulent registration and intended to manipulate the electoral process in his favour.