HARARE – The High Court has stopped the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission from conducting searches at the offices of the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board.
On Monday ZACC obtained search warrants from the High Court to search and seize certain documents from the offices of three Government ministers — Mines and Mining Development Minister Obert Mpofu, Youth Development, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere and Transport, Communications and Infrastructure Development Minister Nicholas Goche.
ZACC suspects the trio was involved in underhand dealings.
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.
As stakes get high in the saga which was first exposed by the Daily News, there seems no end in sight to the sensational case which has exposed the corruption in the empowerment programme championed by Mugabe’s Zanu PF.
On Tuesday NIEEB and the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation sought an interdict through an urgent chamber application that saw Judge President George Chiweshe ruling in their favour.For convenience, the two matters were jointly heard and Justice Chiweshe passed one ruling which has a bearing on both matters.
Justice Chiweshe granted the order with the consent of ZACC, which conceded to the terms of the interim relief sought by ZMDC and NIEEB without any amendment. He barred ZACC from executing the search warrant issued by the High Court on March 11. NIEEB falls under Minister Kasukuwere’s portifolio.
ZACC obtained search warrants after its investigators were reportedly denied entry to conduct searches at the three offices.
NIEEB, in its application that also cited Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri and the Attorney-General Mr Johannes Tomana as respondents, sought a provisional order stopping ZACC from executing the search warrants obtained from the same court on Monday pending the determination of the matter.
It argued that the search warrants that were obtained in terms of Section 50(1) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, were wrongly issued.
The indigenisation board also argued that ZACC had no power in terms of its own enabling legislation, the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, to obtain a search warrant from a judge of the High Court.
Mr Wilson Gwatiringa, an official from NIEEB, who deposed the affidavit, stated that ZACC acted ultravires its own enabling Act to exercise power, which it does not have.
He said the commission caused the higher court to issue a search warrant in circumstances where the judge concerned did not have the power to do so in view of the section of the law relied upon.
He said the execution of the illegal search warrant would disrupt NIEEB’s operations and irreparably prejudice the successful execution of the indigenisation programme.
Mr Gwatiringa added that NIEEB had a right to protection of the law in circumstances where a party such as ZACC acts in clear violation of its own enabling Act as well as the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act.
The commission approached the High Court on Monday and obtained the search warrant after Harare magistrate Ms Marehwanazvo Gofa refused to grant its application for lack of merit.
In her ruling, Ms Gofa said she was not convinced that ZACC had satisfied the requirements of the provisions of the for such application to be granted.
Section 13(4) of the Anti-Corruption Act requires any officer who intends to make any search, entry or seizure to first notify the officer commanding the police district in which the officer intends to make the search, entry or seizure and secondly to be accompanied by a police officer assigned to him or her.
ZACC general manager for investigations Ms Sukai Tongogara had sought an order allowing the commission to search the three ministers’ offices and secure a plethora of documents, which she said would assist in the investigation of the alleged corrupt deals.
The Nieebgate scandal has gone viral since the Daily News broke the stinking scam on February 14, exposing apparent flaws in the nearly $1 billion Zimbabwe Platinum Mines Limited (Zimplats) deal — touted as the biggest empowerment deal since independence in 1980 but now turning out to be the biggest commercial scandal.
The scandal also extends to six other top earning companies which were indigenised.
The probe team want a register of all mining companies that have complied with the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act, copies of all agreements entered into between mining companies and the government and communities.
The anti-corruption watchdog also wants contract documents concerning the engagement of Top Harvest, a private equity investment firm that stitched the first Zimplats indigenisation deal before Brainworks Capital (Private) Limited was engaged.
According to information reaching the Daily News, Zacc had reasonable grounds to suspect that there was abuse of duty by public officers who handled the indigenisation transaction in contravention of Section 174 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
Zanu PF national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo has publicly admitted that corruption is a cancer afflicting the liberation movement. Mugabe also admitted that Kasukuwere got it wrong in implementing the indigenisation programme in relation to the obtaining of shares in platinum mining giant Zimplats.
The Nieebgate saga has put a dent if not a hole on the seemingly attractive empowerment scheme, under which foreign companies are forced to cede 51 percent of their shares to government approved bodies and communities.
Apart from resorting to the legal channels to block Zacc from getting to the bottom of the shoddy empowerment deals, Nieeb officials reportedly used guns to stop the anti-graft body from entering its offices. Daily News/Herald
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