By Tinashe Mungazi
Victoria Falls Town Clerk Ronnie Dube who is facing a criminal abuse of office charge has been granted bail.
Dube who has been languishing in remand prison since his arrest last week on Wednesday was released on ZWL 50 000 bail by Hwange Provincial Magistrate Gladmore Mushowe.
As part of his bail conditions he was ordered to surrender his travel documents to the court, report to ZRP Victoria Falls once every fortnight (Fridays) until finalisation of his case and not interfere with State witnesses.
Dube was also ordered to stay at his given address (196 Soopers Crescent, Victoria Falls and surrender title deeds of his Bulawayo property.
His case was remanded to 10 June.
Allegations against Dube are that on 8 September 2017 Dube received a request to purchase additional land behind stands 1381, 1382, 1383, 1384, 1385, 1386 and 943 from Ntokozo Mlilo, group human resources manager for Shearwater Adventures.
It is further alleged that Dube then caused for the evaluation of the stand by Becktone P/L who responded to him on 11 February 2019 with the value of the stand. He went on to misrepresent to Victoria Falls ordinary full council meeting through a Town Clerk’s report, that one applicant Shearwater had expressed interest to acquire a commercial stand number 1782, Victoria Falls yet in the actual fact there were other companies that had also expressed interest such as Wild Horizons.
Council adopted the report and resolved to offer it to Shearwater without following tender procedures as required by the 1 April 2014 council resolution which required that commercial stands be sold on tender.
The state said Dube in the exercise of his duties or functions as such, intentionally influenced Council through his report to sale a commercial stand 1782 without following tender procedures which was contrary or inconsistent with his duties as a public officer.
