Minister Dinha faces prosecution

By Fungi Kwaramba

HARARE – The minister of State for Mashonaland Central, Martin Dinha, could be dragged to court today over allegations of abuse of office as the bloodletting in Zanu PF reaches fever-pitch.

There were conflicting reports yesterday night with police sources telling the Daily News that the minister —  who regularly and shamelessly bootlicks the First Family — could be hauled before the courts today while others said there were no charges preferred against him yet.

“Although the minister was not arrested, he will appear in court today facing charges of abuse of office,” a senior police source told the Daily News yesterday.

While Dinha was not immediately available for comment, a source close to the minister claimed he spent the day at his offices yesterday.

“Yes, we have heard that he might be dragged to court but that is just politics,” our source said.

Problems have been mounting for the former Bindura mayor, who is cornered by hawks in the province who want him dropped from government.

Dinha, who recently received a bullet parcel and a threatening message telling him to step down or risk suffering the same fatal fate that befell the late Zanu PF political commissar Elliot Manyika who died in a suspicious car accident in 2008, is seen as an obstacle to the ambitions of the G40 camp and some war veterans in the province who want his wings clipped.

Apart from aligning himself with the First Family, Dinha, who was previously linked to ousted Vice President Joice Mujuru, is now accused of belonging to Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s faction, something that has angered the G40 camp that also goes by the moniker Young Turks.

Well-placed sources say for the past four months, politicians opposed to Dinha have been compiling “evidence” to nail him on allegations that range from abuse of office to corruption.

Sources close to the investigations also revealed that Dinha’s accounts with two leading banks in the country were raided as the anti-Dinha lobby to nail him with irrefutable evidence gathered momentum.

“Some hardliners presented a dossier to the president seeking the arrest and prosecution of Dinha but he said there must be irrefutable evidence before such action is taken.”

On Monday, the Daily News was inundated with calls that Dinha had been arrested and insiders say there is a renewed attempt to have him thrown behind bars and ultimately end his political career. Dinha has in the past few weeks taken bootlicking to another level, showering Mugabe and his wife with outrageous praises. Daily News