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Fraud rap ... Munyaradzi Kereke is accused of defrauding the Harare Medical Aid Society

HARARE – A Harare court has dismissed an application by child rapist and former Bikita West MP Munyaradzi Kereke to be removed from remand in his US$400,000 fraud trial.

Kereke – currently serving a jail sentence for raping his niece – had argued that prosecutors were taking too long to wrap up his prosecution, but magistrate Marewanazvo Gofa said he should have directed his application to the High Court.

The magistrate ruled on Wednesday: “The applicant is seeking to be removed from remand since the state has failed to prosecute him on time. The state argued that the remands were justified since he is facing a serious case and that his removal from remand is prejudicial to the complainant.

“It is only the High Court in terms of the High Court law which has the discretion to entertain cases of this nature. In short, the accused has not made any application to deal with referrals to the Constitutional Court and this court dismisses this application for lack of jurisdiction.”

In his application, Kereke argued that his arrest was politically motivated.

He is charged together with suspended Harare Municipal Medical Aid Society (HMMAS) chief executive officer Everisto Rukasha.

The National Prosecuting Authority argues that sometime in 2014, Rukasha and Kereke signed an agreement where the latter would sell his Fortress Hospital to HMMAS for US$800,000.

Kereke allegedly appointed Newton Madzika, the managing director of Health Body Images, to do the transaction on his behalf.

On November 7, 2014, HMMAS met its obligation by paying the full purchase price of US$800,000.

Days later, Kereke allegedly connived with Rukasha and wrote to HMMAS misrepresenting that the medical aid society still owed him US$400,000, and the fund paid him US$120,000 before the accounts department questioned the payment, leading to his arrest.

Kereke maintains that the sale of the hospital was done by a panel of 15 board members hence there was no way any fraudulent act could have happened. –ZimLive

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