Bulawayo magistrate Themba Chimiso has ruled that the State has sufficient evidence to place councillors Mxolisi Mahlangu and Ashton Mhlanga on remand in a case in which they are accused of attempting to extort US$52 000 from a local businessman.
Chimiso dismissed the councillors’ opposition to their placement on remand, saying he was satisfied with the State’s arguments that there was adequate evidence to warrant the continuation of the case.
Although the magistrate acknowledged some of the arguments raised by the defence had merit, he ruled that they were not sufficient to undermine the State’s case at the remand stage.
The ruling followed a heated contest between the defence and the State over whether prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence linking Mahlangu and Mhlanga to the alleged offence.
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Representing the councillors, lawyer Kholwani Ngwenya argued the State had failed to establish a nexus between his clients and the alleged crime.
“The accused persons are charged with soliciting a bribe, alternatively extortion. To be placed on remand, there must be facts showing that there is evidence the offence was committed and that there must be a nexus between them and the offence committed,” Ngwenya said.
He said the State’s papers contained several paragraphs dealing with the allegations but did not specifically implicate Mahlangu and Mhlanga.
“The documents show 14 paragraphs relating to bribery or extortion. None of these talk of bribery. There is nothing either linking the two to the offence. There is no mention of any of these accused persons,” Ngwenya said.
He further argued the two councillors were not arrested as part of the undercover operation and were not linked to the money allegedly recovered by investigators.
“They were not arrested through any trap, they were not linked to any money recovered, and there is no mention of digital evidence, whatever it is, that is mentioned in the relevant documents,” he said.
Prosecutor Milton Moyo, however, dismissed the defence’s arguments, saying the State’s case was the two councillors acted together with the three accused persons already on remand.
“The court documents read that they connived with three other people who are already on remand to extort the complainant. They acted in common purpose. This is the nexus that has been established by the State,” he said.
Moyo said the State was also in possession of documentary and financial evidence allegedly connected to the investigation.
“The State is in possession of a stamp authority and certificate and US$5 000 which was recovered. There is also digital communication between the accused persons and the complainant,” he said.
The prosecutor stressed the remand proceedings were not meant to determine whether the councillors were guilty or innocent.
“Placement on remand is not a determination of guilt,” Moyo said.
“As the State we do not have to prove our case beyond reasonable doubt, but to show that they are involved in the alleged offence.”
The ruling means they will return to court on September 10, 2026 alongside Deputy Mayor Edwin Ndlovu, Ward 28 councillor Ntandoyenkosi Ndlovu and former Ward 22 councillor Alderman Rodney Jele, who are already facing the same allegations.
The five are accused of allegedly conniving to extort US$52 000 from a local businessman over a 50-year lease granted by the Bulawayo City Council for a proposed hotel development.
According to the State, the lease was awarded in March 2023 to Mkhuze Global Investments, a company owned by the complainant, for the development of the hotel.
The State alleged in August this year, the accused approached the businessman and told him other businesspeople were interested in the stand and were prepared to pay US$52 000 to have his lease cancelled.
The businessman was allegedly told to pay the same amount if he wanted to retain the lease.
The allegations prompted him to approach the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) which then mounted an undercover operation.
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