News / National
Police open can of worms on missing $15 billion
10 Apr 2018 at 09:14hrs | Views
The missing $15 billion diamond saga keeps taking new twists and turns. Yesterday Francis Gudyanga, former secretary of mines claimed that there were powerful shadow forces controlling the diamond mining sector.
Missing $15 billion diamond saga takes new twist…police open can of worms
He claimed that he had received numerous threats over the issue and he has been persecuted and arrested several times since he left the ministry. Gudyanga however denied to name the party behind the threats.
"I cannot disclose anything because I was threatened," he said.
"It affects me because since I resigned, I have been arrested three times and the issues are at the courts."
Former Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) boss, Happyton Bonyongwe his agency's operations in Chiadzwa at Kusena Mine were clean, but the ZRP were said to have been engaged in shady deals. The police allegedly annexed mines and chasing away other shareholders then seized all unaccounted diamonds.
Police boss Matanga was represented by his deputy Innocent Matibiri, who professed ignorance over police's alleged heavy-handedness in the diamond fields.
"I must state that I know absolutely nothing about that entity Gye Nyame.
"The ZRP is an organisation of 50 000 people and assignments are deployed to each of us and so we know nothing," he said, adding not his boss Matanga knew about Gye Nyame. Matibiri said he was unaware of who ordered ZRP to storm the diamond fields.
"I do not know about all these other issues that you are raising," he said, while former Home Affairs minister Ignatius Chombo also professed ignorance over the matter.
Deputy Commissioner-General (crime) Josephine Shambare added:
"It appears to me that there are some mining operations that the police did not know about, for example that armed police officers stormed into Marange and came out with vaults, and the Gye Nyame operations."
Mliswa then accused Matibiri and Shambare making Chihuri a scapegoat
"You think your failure to answer this exonerates the police as an institution," he said.
Matibiri said the problem was that Chihuri did not inform other bosses about the mining operations and probably assigned other people.
Retired police commissioner, Mekia Tanyanyiwa told the committee that contrary to Matibiri's testimony, commanders were involved in the deployment of armed officers to the diamond fields.
"Let us say the truth, the deployment of the police was there and the commanders were there and so why are we afraid to say the truth?
"Are you afraid to say the truth because you might be retired?
"Some of us were retired within 12 hours.
"The deployment was there and the officers deployed received allowances, transport and fuel. Everything was engineered and authored from Harare."
Missing $15 billion diamond saga takes new twist…police open can of worms
He claimed that he had received numerous threats over the issue and he has been persecuted and arrested several times since he left the ministry. Gudyanga however denied to name the party behind the threats.
"I cannot disclose anything because I was threatened," he said.
"It affects me because since I resigned, I have been arrested three times and the issues are at the courts."
Former Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) boss, Happyton Bonyongwe his agency's operations in Chiadzwa at Kusena Mine were clean, but the ZRP were said to have been engaged in shady deals. The police allegedly annexed mines and chasing away other shareholders then seized all unaccounted diamonds.
Police boss Matanga was represented by his deputy Innocent Matibiri, who professed ignorance over police's alleged heavy-handedness in the diamond fields.
"I must state that I know absolutely nothing about that entity Gye Nyame.
"The ZRP is an organisation of 50 000 people and assignments are deployed to each of us and so we know nothing," he said, adding not his boss Matanga knew about Gye Nyame. Matibiri said he was unaware of who ordered ZRP to storm the diamond fields.
"I do not know about all these other issues that you are raising," he said, while former Home Affairs minister Ignatius Chombo also professed ignorance over the matter.
Deputy Commissioner-General (crime) Josephine Shambare added:
"It appears to me that there are some mining operations that the police did not know about, for example that armed police officers stormed into Marange and came out with vaults, and the Gye Nyame operations."
Mliswa then accused Matibiri and Shambare making Chihuri a scapegoat
"You think your failure to answer this exonerates the police as an institution," he said.
Matibiri said the problem was that Chihuri did not inform other bosses about the mining operations and probably assigned other people.
Retired police commissioner, Mekia Tanyanyiwa told the committee that contrary to Matibiri's testimony, commanders were involved in the deployment of armed officers to the diamond fields.
"Let us say the truth, the deployment of the police was there and the commanders were there and so why are we afraid to say the truth?
"Are you afraid to say the truth because you might be retired?
"Some of us were retired within 12 hours.
"The deployment was there and the officers deployed received allowances, transport and fuel. Everything was engineered and authored from Harare."
Source - zimetro
