HARARE
–
Harare
mayor
Jacob
Mafume
was
Tuesday
convicted
and
handed
a
wholly
suspended
sentence
for
lying
about
his
residential
address
when
he
appeared
recently
before
the
Commission
of
Inquiry
into
the
Harare’s
administrative
affairs.
The
Justice
Maphios
Cheda
led
Commission
found
the
opposition
official
guilty
of
lying
under
oath.
While
under
questioning
by
the
Commissioners
recently,
Mafume
claimed
he
was
temporarily
residing
at
number
110
Coronation
Road
in
Greendale,
Harare.
He
had
told
Commissioners
he
moved
out
of
his
private
family
home
in
Belvedere
to
allow
renovations
on
the
property
to
make
it
suitable
for
a
student
accommodation
facility.
However,
when
Commissioners
visited
his
said
residential
address,
they
found
an
undeveloped
property
belonging
to
one
Peter
Pfukwa.
The
decoy
home
was
being
used
as
a
vehicle
auction
site.
The
Commission
found
the
CCC
official
guilty
of
breaching
Section
13
of
the
Commissions
of
Inquiry
Act
following
the
misleading
information.
He
was
sentenced
to
pay
a
fine
of
$300
or
serve
3
months
of
imprisonment
with
labour.
The
sentence
was
wholly
suspended
on
the
condition
that
he
does
not
commit
the
same
offence
again
within
the
next
5
years.
“The
Commission
imposes
the
following
sentence
on
you;
that
you
Mr
Jacob
Mafume
you
are
sentenced
to
pay
a
fine
of
$300
or
three
months
in
prison
with
labour
which
is
wholly
suspended
for
5
years
on
condition
that
during
that
period
you
are
not
convicted
of
contravening
sections
13
or
14
of
the
Commissions
of
Inquiry
Act
which
upon
conviction
and
sentence,
you
are
sentenced
to
a
period
of
imprisonment
not
exceeding
US$300
or
three
months
imprisonment,”
the
Commission
said.
In
mitigation,
Mafume
had
proffered
his
“heartfelt
apologies
to
the
Commission
for
the
misleading
information”.
He
prayed
for
a
reprimand
instead
which
he
said
will
serve
the
justice
of
the
case.
Mafume
said
he
is
a
“lawyer
of
standing”,
a
family
man
with
two
children,
and
has
served
the
city
for
a
considerable
amount
of
years
as
both
councillor
and
mayor.
He
also
said
he
owned
two
vehicles,
a
property
which
he
co-owns
with
his
wife.
In
pronouncing
sentence,
the
Commission
said
it
had
taken
his
mitigation
into
consideration.