Trial Set for October in $7 Million Presidential Goat Project Fraud Case

10.08.24

Nomathemba Mathe

The trial of Moses Mpofu, 49, and Mike Chimombe, 43, accused of defrauding the government of over $7 million in a failed scheme related to the presidential goat project, is set to resume from October 1 to 4.

Mpofu and Chimombe were taken into custody in June and initially appeared in court on August 7. They face fraud charges for allegedly forging tax clearance and compliance certificates for their company, Blackdeck Private Limited, and submitting them as part of a bidding document for a tender to supply goats under the Presidential Goat Pass-on Scheme.

A verification process revealed that the pair only had 3,713 goats in their holding sites, leading to the contract’s cancellation on August 29, 2022.

Despite this, they supplied only 4,208 goats valued at $331,445, but converted a staggering $7,380,751 to their personal use. The scheme’s terms stipulated that the goats were meant to be passed on to needy households, which would then pass them on to the next beneficiary after they reproduced.

The upcoming trial will focus on the allegations of fraud and the duo’s involvement in the scheme.