Police to interview everyone mentioned by Kudzayi on Baba Jukwa
Police yesterday said they were going to interview all the people who were recently mentioned by The Sunday Mail Editor Edmund Kudzayi, who is accused of being behind the faceless Facebook character Baba Jukwa.
Sources close to the investigations said they were still questioning Lieutenant-Colonel Kembo and Herbert Huruba who are assisting the investigations.
“It’s not a witch-hunting exercise, but what we just want is to ascertain what was happening,” said a police source. “We will and we are going to interview all the people mentioned by Kudzayi.”
According to the police, this was being done in terms of the law and in a professional manner.
Last Friday, police started questioning Lt-Col Kembo and Huruba, one of the designers of the Hovhorosi Style dress code in connection with the Baba Jukwa saga, as investigations into the case continued.
This comes after police investigating the case on Thursday last week asked Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo to help them in their investigations by submitting clarifications on issues to do with the case.
Environment, Water and Climate Minister Saviour Kasukuwere was on Saturday questioned by the police detectives over the case.
Several other senior officials were expected to be called in for questioning over the case, the police source said.
This followed allegations by Kudzayi, who is accused of being behind the faceless Facebook character, that he became aware of the Baba Jukwa issue when Minister Kasukuwere called him as an IT expert to assess and make an overview of information supplied by an Australian-based hacker only identified as Kennedy.
He said Kennedy had been brought to Minister Kasukuwere by Huruba.
Kudzayi said after making a report back to Minister Kasukuwere, he was referred to Prof Moyo who took him to the Ministry of Defence with whom he worked to expose the Baba Jukwa syndicate.
Kudzayi and his brother Philip have since appeared in court accused of attempting to subvert a constitutionally-elected government and undermining the authority of the President.
They are both out on bail with stringent conditions.
So far the police are pointing fingers at about 14 people including Edmund and Philip Kudzayi, Wilf and Trish Mbanga, Mxolisi Ncube, Mkululi Chimoio, Chawarika Matongorere, Samson Chifamba, Walter Shoko; George Chirakasha, Anomie Drew, Piniel Nhokodi, Romeo Musemburi and Sarudzai Florence.
Mbanga has already rubbished the allegations as ‘misguided’ and said the police were on a phishing expedition. “They only have to read a copy of the Sunday Mail of May 11th where my hacked email exchange with Baba Jukwa was published. This clearly shows that I had nothing to do with the said Facebook page.”
“The Sunday Mail itself claimed that I had been duped into paying my own reporters to publish some of Baba Jukwa’s exposes that were already on Facebook and the Internet. Why would I offer to pay for something if I was an administrator?” Mbanga said in his statement.
Ncube and Chimoio were the first to be accused by the state media of being Baba Jukwa. The two however denied any involvement and instead hired Harare lawyer Obert Gutu to file lawsuits against the publications who made the claims.
