Ashley Masakadza

Former Deputy Finance Minister Terence Mukupe has been slapped with a 3 year jail sentence and a US$12780 fine for importing diesel without paying duty.

The sentence comes after Mukupe was charged for fraud after he imported 138 979 litres of diesel without paying duty on 27 January in 2017 at Forbes Boarder Post in Mutare.

He committed the offence in the company of Same Kapisoriso, Joseph Taderera and Leonard Mudzuto, who were both convicted of the same crime.

It is the state’s case that Mukupe and his accomplices connived to unlawfully import diesel without paying duty. The accused persons misrepresented that the diesel was going to be offloaded in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Pursuant to their plan, they replaced the diesel with water in Zimbabwe.

The matter came to light on the 30th of January 2017 when officials from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) intercepted them at Chirundu One Stop Boarder Post to verify the nature of the goods they were carrying. In so doing the accused persons prejudiced the State of revenue amounting to USD$55 591-60.