Police dossier exposes Mohadi

By Tawanda Majoni

A leaked police intelligence document has made sensational claims of violence, theft, abuse of office and manipulation of government departments against Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi.

Mohadi, the Beitbridge East MP, has declared his interest to contest one of the two posts of vice president at the Zanu (PF) congress and could become one of Mugabe’s deputies in government if he succeeds. The Zimbabwe Republic Police falls under his ministry.

The security dossier was compiled by the then officer commanding Matabeleland South police province, Senior Assistant Commissioner Billy Mashonga, on March 7 2012 and sent to Commissioner Augustine Chihuri during the Government of National Unity (GNU) when Theresa Makoni of MDC-T shared the home affairs post.

“The Co-Minister of Home Affairs, Comrade Kembo Mohadi, is self decapacitating his political career by engaging in acts which are vindictive towards members of his constituency (sic),” says the dossier.

Even though no known action has been taken against Mohadi, the lengthy dossier, “Activities involving Co-Minister of Home Affairs, Comrade Kembo Mohadi”, chronicles a catalogue of cattle rustling, assault of resettled farmers, malicious damage to property, illegal displacement of people and involvement in controversial mining activities.

The document also accuses Mohadi of threatening the police, Central Intelligence Organisation operatives, judicial officers and employees of the Ministry of Indigenisation, and labelling senior Zanu (PF) officials as MDC-T members.

According to the report, Mohadi forcefully ejected resettled farmers and expanded his farm from an initial 2,000 hectares, “the maximum standard in the province”, to 4,000 hectares.

“He went on to displace some settlers adjacent to his farm and extend (sic) his farm to 4,000 hectares. The acquisition of the extra 2,000 hectares was done outside the District and Provincial land Committees,” wrote the officer commanding province (Compol).

On April 6 and 26 2009, Mohadi reportedly mobilised youths from Chabeta in Beitbridge and took them to a place called Ngoma in Gwanda where he rounded up 47 cattle belonging to Julius Muleya, Tsoaselo Ncube and Tululo Dube.

He allegedly took 21 of the beasts to his own farm and ordered the youths to share the rest with community members in Chabeta who had lost their cattle to rustlers from Ngoma. While the aggrieved villagers reported the matter at Tuli Police Station, their reports were not attended to.

The document says he coerced Beitbridge district officials and lands officers to allocate his son, Compbell, and a relative, Damisa Muleya, communal farm offer letters on May 2000.

Even though the lands committees subsequently reversed the move, Mohadi is said to have dug his heels in and Compbell and Muleya kept the plots. Other accusations in the report include the following:

Mohadi fenced off 7,000 ha of land on and round his vast farm, blocking settlers from accessing their homes, water sources for cattle and pastures.

On September 12 2011, he visited a settlement called Jompembe in Beitbridge where he ordered the villagers to leave. In a fit of rage, he struck one sheep dead and pointed a gun at Philani Ndou to scare him off. Even though a report was made to the police, no action was taken.

About two weeks later, he allegedly assaulted one Kumbirai Ncube in ongoing land disputes. A police report made at the Beitbridge Rural Police Station was not actioned.

A month later, he threatened Soforia Ndou from Jompembe with violence and made a statement attacking the President’s Department personnel based in Matabeleland South and the police for their failure to displace occupants of plots adjacent to his farm.

On December 31 2011, Compbell accused some villagers of malicious damage to property and Mohadi personally took the five suspects to Beitbridge Rural police station where he pointed a gun at one of them while his guards assaulted the suspects.

He reportedly clashed with senior party members, Andrew Langa, with whom he was friends at one time, and current water minister, Saviour Kasukuwere, who then headed the Indigenisation Ministry. He attempted to use youths to tarnish Langa by labelling him an MDC-T member, while Kasukuwere reportedly confronted him at his office in Harare and warned him against abusing youths or officers from State departments.

Local prosecution authorities refused to put Mohadi on trial for his actions despite “overwhelming evidence against him”.

Mashonga accused the police investigating officers of citing the wrong persons in one of the reported cases and even admitted that they had been protecting Mohadi.

“In conclusion, Sir, going by this submission, our honourable Minister’s hands are not clean. Rather, he should be thankful in the manner we have protected him. On the political scene, the minister is seriously damaging himself (sic),” stated the report.

A senior police officer at the Police General Headquarters (PGHQ) in Harare said it was not clear what had happened to the dossier, but speculated that Chihuri had briefed President Robert Mugabe.

“These reports are not just written. There should have been an agreement between the CIO and Chihuri to expose Mohadi to Mugabe. The commissioner general’s hands in such cases are tied unless Mugabe directs him to take action,” said the source.

Mohadi and Kasukuwere were not responding to calls on their mobile phones despite several attempts. The Zimbabwean