Harare provincial police intelligence officer Superintendent Vigai Maunganidze, who is being accused of leaking a University of Zimbabwe law degree examination paper resulting in the suspension of the examination, has denied the allegations during his bail application.
Maunganidze, represented by Josephine Sande and Marble Tarugarira, yesterday appeared before magistrate Tranos Utawashe.
He was arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) officers last Friday.
In opposing bail, Zacc investigating officer Tafadzwa Chivavarika said Maunganidze had shown that he could interfere with witnesses after he phoned a witness, Farai Madombi to delete the examination document which he sent via WhatsApp.
Prosecutor Ephraim Zinyandu said Maunganidze could not be granted bail on the grounds submitted by the investigating officer.
Maunganidze's lawyer, Sande, however, told the court that Zacc investigating officers had failed to provide reasonable grounds to keep her client in custody. Sande said they failed to submit evidence of the document that was leaked by Maunganidze.
She further submitted that the document submitted in court as an exhibit was not the same as the soft copy in the witness' mobile phone.
Maunganidze had also made an application challenging remand, saying the facts did not disclose an offence.
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Utawashe dismissed the application saying placing the accused on remand would help to clear the arguments.
He postponed the matter to today for bail ruling.
Allegations are that on October 31 this year, the accused obtained a University of Zimbabwe Faculty of Law examination paper for administrative local government law for second-year students ahead of the examination on November 3, 2022.
The accused was supposed to sit for the same examination.
It is alleged that Maunganidze shared the leaked paper with Farai Madombi, a third-year bachelor of substantive laws student at the University of Zimbabwe.
On November 1, Madombi sat for the company law examination at the University of Zimbabwe from 1400 to 1700hrs.
While in the examination hall, other students were caught cheating and were disqualified.
After the examination, Zanu PF information director Tafadzwa Mugwadi, a classmate of Madombi, approached him to discuss the examination paper they had written.
Mugwadi later complained that people were cheating and he would expose them to Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development minister Amon Murwira.
Madombi, who had received the leaked examination paper via WhatsApp, then forwarded the paper to Mugwadi's WhatsApp number.
Mugwadi immediately notified the University of Zimbabwe authorities of the leaked paper.
It was confirmed that the paper was the one that was supposed to be written by second-year bachelor of substantive law students on November 3, 2022.
The university then cancelled the examination.
The State alleges that Maunganidze's actions were prejudicial to the University of Zimbabwe's credibility, and he acted unlawfully.
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