By Lance Guma
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HARARE – Robert Mugabe’s regime on Monday invoked controversial legislation to suspend the bail granted to the head of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) amid allegations the anti-graft body is being punished for investigating three Zanu PF ministers.
ZACC chief executive Ngonidzashe Gumbo, who is facing charges of defrauding the commission of US$435 000, was yesterday granted US$1 000 bail, but will remain in custody for the next seven days after the regime invoked Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act.
The Act is mostly used to prolong the detention of opponents of the regime especially in cases where the state knows the charges are trumped up or they have a slim chance of securing a conviction.
It’s being alleged Gumbo bought offices to be used by the commission in Mt Pleasant using Government funds, but registered the property in the name of a company he jointly owned with four of his subordinates. Magistrate Donald Ndirowei yesterday granted him the bail coupled with stringent conditions.
Ndirowei said: “After hearing submissions from both counsels, this court finds that there are no cogent reasons to keep the accused person incarcerated. The accused person is not a flight risk since he turned himself to the police.”
It was then that State Prosecutor Mr Michael Reza invoked the controversial Section 121 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act claiming that the State wants to appeal to the High Court.
Only last week Justice Charles Hungwe who ordered the immediate release of human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa and also granted a search warrant to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission to search the offices of three Zanu PF Cabinet ministers was facing a smear campaign by the state media.
Justice Hungwe issued an order for arresting officers to immediately release Mtetwa. The police however refused to obey the order and bizarrely a lower Magistrates Court denied Mtetwa bail.
Two weeks ago Justice Hungwe granted the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) permission to search the offices of Mines minister Obert Mpofu, Indigenisation minister Saviour Kasukuwere, and Transport and Infrastructural Development minister Nicholas Goche.
The commission also pounced on the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board (NIEEB) and Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) offices which fall under Kasukuwere and Goche respectively. It was only pro-Mugabe judge, Justice George Chiweshe who blocked the searches.
It now appears the regime is hitting back at both the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and the judge who ordered the search warrants.
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