President Robert Mugabe has ordered Zanu PF to refer to the police the investigation of five top party officials implicated in a million-dollar extortion case.
Report by Everson Mushava
The five are alleged to have extorted money from diamond mining companies in Manicaland Province.
Zanu PF national secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa yesterday told NewsDay the politburo resolved at its Wednesday meeting that the officials be probed and prosecuted if necessary.
“Yes, the issue was on the agenda, but we did not discuss it after President Mugabe said it should be referred to the police,” he said.
“We don’t take exceptions with people who use power to take other people’s things. “Right now, these are still allegations, but we are happy the matter would now be investigated at the highest level. We want to get rid of corruption.”
The suspects include Manicaland chairperson Mike Madiro, ousted youth chairperson Tawanda Mukodza, youth secretary for security Admire Mahachi, youth secretary for information Masimba Kangai and former district co-ordinating committee member Clever Muparutsa.
Mbada Diamonds allegedly gave them $300 000, the unnamed company released $450 0000, but Anjin is said to have insisted on transferring its donation of $400 000 into a Zanu PF account.
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The five officials allegedly claimed the party wanted the money to bankroll its activities including funding the 13th national people’s conference held in Gweru last month.
It is alleged the officials converted some of the money to their personal use.
Sources told NewsDay Mutasa blew the whistle on the alleged scam to acting police Commissioner-General Levi Sibanda.
Sibanda in turn is reported to have alerted the then Acting President Joice Mujuru before the latter spilled the beans to Mugabe on his return from annual leave. Mugabe immediately ordered the country’s security agencies to investigate.
Senior intelligence officers then instituted investigations into one of the mining companies — Mbada Diamonds.
Besides the probe by the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) , a six-member Zanu PF probe team led by Zanu PF Manicaland vice-chairperson Dorothy Mabika was also tasked to carry out parallel investigations, party sources said. The Zanu PF team allegedly visited Mbada Diamonds’ offices last week and met the company’s senior executives.
The company officials reportedly admitted that Zanu PF Manicaland Province had approached them seeking donations for the conference, a request they turned down.
The accused have appeared before a provincial disciplinary committee chaired by Mabika early this month, but the committee reportedly failed to produce evidence incriminating Madiro and his team. Sources close to the goings-on at the politburo meeting said Mugabe was in an uncompromising mood on the scandal, which he fears would confirm allegations by Zanu PF critics that diamond mines were financing a parallel regime to keep him in power. Mutasa dismissed the allegations that he was after Madiro’s head.
“I don’t have anything against Madiro,” he said. “The decision to investigate the matter was taken by the party leadership of Manicaland and I am only one of them.”
