The High Court yesterday reportedly granted the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) permission to search the offices of three Cabinet ministers allegedly involved in corrupt activities. Report by Everson Mushava
A well-placed source within the commission told NewsDay that High Court judge Justice Charles Hungwe had given ZACC the green light to search the offices of Mines minister Obert Mpofu, Indigenisation minister Saviour Kasukuwere, and Transport and Infrastructural Development minister Nicholas Goche.
The commission is also set to pounce on National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB) and Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) offices which fall under Kasukuwere and Goche respectively.
NewsDay is reliably informed that lawyers representing the ministers were yesterday frantically preparing papers to oppose the High Court order in the Supreme Court.
An investigation team from ZACC was last week reportedly denied entry to search the offices.
Although ZACC spokesperson Goodwin Shana admitted having approached the High Court seeking such an order, he declined to comment further.
A source from the commission, however, said yesterday: “Yes, the anti-corruption commission got an order to search the ministers. “ZACC has been trying to secure a search warrant from the police and the Magistrates’ Court, but it was taking long. We had to approach the High Court and had the order granted today (yesterday).”
Kasukuwere and NIEEB have been in the limelight over alleged corruption in indigenisation transactions, involving particularly the Zimplats deal which observers say prejudiced the country of many millions of dollars while making well-connected individuals rich overnight.
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Zinara has also come under heavy criticism from motorists and the general public, who accuse the authority of failing to maintain the country’s road network despite collecting huge amounts of money in tollgate and vehicle licence fees.
Many reports on the country’s mining sector also allege massive corruption in the Mpofu-led ministry.
NewsDay sources at the anti-graft body said the probe would not be limited to the ministers’ offices, but also other high echelons of government and several departments and private companies.
