ctitioner, Member of Parliament and holder of public office,
Kuruneri should have led by example.
“Since the accused is a first offender and the trauma and stress that
he endured as a result of this case, he is sentenced to a wholly suspended
six months imprisonment,” said Mavangira.
Judge Mavangira added that he will pay a fine of $2 million for each of
the six counts he has been facing of violating the Citizenship Act
betwen the period of 2002 and April 2004.
In 2005 Judge Mavangiraconvicted Kuruneri of breaching the country’s
citizenship laws after he confessed to holding a Canadian passport in
addition to a Zimbabwean diplomatic one. Zimbabwean law does not allow
dual citizenship.
Kuruneri was acquitted last week by the High Court for allegedly
smuggling money abroad to build a house in South Africa.
However, State lawyer Joseph Jagada yesterday sought leave to appeal
against the acquittal at the Supreme Court arguing that the Court
misguided itself at both law and the evidence before it.
Kuruneri’s lawyers are challenging the appeal.
Judge Mavhangira will make her ruling on the 15th of this month on
whether the appeal has merits.
Kuruneri was arrested in April 2004 at the height of the Zimbabwean
government’s anti-graft crusade, becoming the senior-most official to
face charges of corruption. He faced seven counts of breaching Zimbabwe’s
exchange control laws by allegedly transferring $500 000, £37 000, €30
000 and R1.2m to buy and renovate an eight-bedroom mansion.