By Adrian Mutigwe
Rumours of foul play in the death of former Zanu (PF) politician Edward Chindori Chininga in a car accident have refused to die down amid revelations by party stalwart Nicholas Goche that the slain parliamentarian had wanted to reveal something.
Goche told family members gathered for Chininga’s memorial service that the former Guruve South MP had sent him an sms (short message service) requesting an email address in order to forward a document.
“I should have acted immediately. Now I do not know what was in that document,” Goche said.
The outgoing Transport and Communications Minister’s claims corroborate disclosures by MDC-T secretary general and outgoing Finance Minister Tendai Biti who, immediately after Chininga’s death, said the former chair of the Parliamentary portfolio committee on Mines and Mining Development had send him an sms requesting his email address.
“On 17 June 2013 at 1:21 pm I received the following text from him: ‘Hi Minister Send me your e-mail address. I want to send you a report’. Almost instantly at 1:33 pm I send him my e-mail address. He responded instantly in a text, I hardly read, which on re-reading after his departure I find ominous and cryptic,” Biti said.
A flurry of rumours flew around claiming Chininga had a damning report on how the political elite in Zanu (PF) were pillaging the country’s diamonds. “I know that that the committee (on mines) tried to peek and peep in many pots of corruption with heavy handed response from the powers that be.
The issue of diamonds and opaque diamond revenue being at the centre of the storm. Chindori’s committee was not even allowed to set foot in Chiadzwa for some time.
“I had many discussions with him in this period and on many question time sessions of parliament he would ask me leading questions on diamonds to expose the common cause shenanigans in this area of national shame,” said Biti.
“In April this year he came to me and advised that he was tired of Mr …stealing our diamonds and wanted to make an in-depth study. He asked for figures on diamond revenue and I immediately from the top of my head narrated the details on theft of our diamonds.
“I then advised that if he was to present a report to Parly (Parliament) he must summon me to his committee. He advised that Parliament’s bureaucracy would not allow them to have this kind of inquiry. I then advised him to write to the ministry of finance formally to request the relevant information.”
Family members have claimed Chininga was murdered in the on-going war for control of Zanu (PF). The Zimbabwean
