Harare Magistrate Morgan Nemadire has also issued an arrest warrant against central bank governor Gideon Gono and his aide, Fortune Chasi, who failed to attend a court hearing where they were scheduled to testify in Matonga’s trial.
Manase, was unavailable for comment. But sources said he was attempting to persuade the Attorney General’s office to withdraw the warrant because Matonga was out of the country on official business.
Public prosectuor Chifarai Dube, however, said his office would accept nothing less than the arrest of the three officials for contempt of court. Dube said the State was ready to execute the warrant and would move to arrest Gono, Matonga and Chasi as soon as they were located.
Gono was reported to be in Morocco mobilising resources for the forthcoming agricultural season.
Matonga has pleaded not guilty to seeking a bribe in the long-running graft case, which has already claimed the scalp of a senior official. He denied conniving with former Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) chairman Charles Nherera, who is now behind bars, to solicit a USD2,000-dollar “gift of consideration” for each of the 75 minibuses supplied to ZUPCO by Harare businessman Jayesh Shah.
The State case is that some time in 2003 Matonga, who was then chief executive officer of the State-owned transport firm, ZUPCO, and Nherera had asked Shah for a kickback to extend a lease agreement for a property rented out to him by ZUPCO.
Manase, who told the magistrate he was unaware of the junior minister’s whereabouts, has in previous court sittings dismissed the charges as pure fabrication. Matonga had roped in Gono and Chasi to plead his innocence.