DOROWA Minerals CEO James Chigwende is the eye of a forgery storm and was dragged to court yesterday.
Chigwende appeared before magistrate Dennis Mangosi who released him on US$300 bail.
He ordered him not to visit Chemplex Cooperation offices for the next two weeks to allow the State to complete recording witness statements at his work place.
The court heard that on February 20, the complainant Courage Katiyo who is the Director of Coursim Investments, initiated a 90-day fix-and-supply contract with Dorowa Minerals, Murambinda.
This was done through its parent organisation Chemplex (Pvt) Ltd.
The job was for the erection of a greenhouse shade at Dorowa Minerals. The contract was signed at Chemplex Headquarters in Harare and Katiyo was meant to receive US$77 264-19 as payment.
The State alleged that Katiyo, and the then acting general manager, appended their signatures on February 20 to the contract document, which had three copies.
However, witnesses to the contract, on behalf of Dorowa Minerals, were not present as they were at the mine where they are stationed.
They received the contract document through email on the same date and the two witnesses — Viznet Ruzvezve and Evans Bonde — signed the contract document on February 22 and sent it back to Harare via the same means.
Katiyo was then favoured with a scanned copy of the contract document, which now had all the signatures, and he acknowledged receipt.
There were some contractual breaches and Katiyo terminated the contract and sent the termination notice through email to Chemplex.
The two parties had been emailing each other as means of communication.
Katiyo claimed his financial dues.
Chigwende rejected this and went on to produce a contract document which was unlawfully and intentionally altered by him.
The copy that Chigwende produced indicated that all signatures were endorsed on February 20.
Katiyo realised that Chigwende had allegedly forged the contract document by replacing the witnesses’ signatures and was now using the forged documents in trying to vary the terms of the contract.
Chigwende argued that the payment of US77 264 should be based on the forged contract document. Chigwende ordered Katiyo to rely on the forged contract and, according to the complainant, even threatened to shoot him.(hmetro)