Bulawayo South MP, Eddie Cross (MDC-T), who made startling revelations in Parliament last week claiming massive plunder of Chiadzwa diamonds by security forces, says his life is now in danger.
Cross — who said the State had lost diamonds in excess of $2,7 billion to looting — claimed yesterday he was being threatened by unknown individuals posing as members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).
The MP tabled a motion in the House of Assembly last Tuesday calling for diamond mines in Marange to be nationalised before naming the Zimbabwe National Army, CIO, Zimbabwe Prison Services and the Zimbabwe Republic Police among organisations extracting diamonds from Chiadzwa fields.
Following the motion, Cross said he was approached by a Zanu PF legislator who told him: “We will investigate and come after you.”
In an interview yesterday, the MP said he had received numerous anonymous phone calls warning him to stop meddling in diamond affairs.
“I have received numerous anonymous phone calls from people who are warning me to ‘behave’. I have also received calls from family and friends warning me to be careful,” he said.
“But the biggest threat came from someone who threatened to shoot me in Mvuma on Sunday after following me from Harare as I was driving to Bulawayo with my wife. The person said he had been sent by a leading politician from Zanu PF.
“I saw his vehicle as I was leaving Harare and three times on the road.”
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Cross reported the matter at Hillside Police Station in Bulawayo yesterday under RRB 1176941.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Mandlenkosi Moyo affirmed the report, saying: “I confirm we received a report from Eddie Cross and we will forward it to the relevant province (Midlands) for further management.”
In a statement, Cross said he left Harare with his wife at 4.30am.
“We stopped just outside the town to have breakfast at 7am and a car, an unmarked, rather battered sedan, registration number ABL 7794, passed and turned into the same location where we were having breakfast. Three men and a woman got out of the vehicle and approached us,” he said.
“The woman greeted me by name and walked past to the toilets nearby. One of the men carrying a beer bottle and very much under the influence, came to the vehicle and spoke to my wife . . . He then walked to where the others were standing and handed them the front page of NewsDay dated 28th of October in which my presentation to Parliament was shown on the front page. He read the article and pointed it out to his colleagues . . . he returned to the motor vehicle and spoke directly to me for the first time.
“He stated in the presence of my wife that he was from the CIO, the President’s Office in Harare and that I was being monitored. His language became more abusive and threatening and my wife asked him not to use such language. He ignored her and told me that he came from (the name of a very senior Zanu PF minister) and that he could do anything he wanted to me including to ‘snipe’ me, at any time.”
Cross said he asked for the operative’s name and force number and he claimed he was Nyoni whose force number is 329741X.
