News / National
Plot to arrest Attorney-General Tomana exposed
08 Apr 2012 at 08:39hrs | Views
Commissioners in the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission unanimously voted last week for the arrest of the Attorney-General, Mr Johannes Tomana, with reports saying the arrest is imminent, The Sunday Mail has been exclusively told.
It is understood that the commission has tasked the chief executive of the commission, one commissioner and the investigators to effect the arrest.
The charge against Mr Tomana is that the letter he wrote to the chairman of the commission, Mr Denford Chirindo, on March 5 2012 calling for the auditing of all 210 parliamentary constituencies instead of the 65 that were being targeted for abusing the Constituency Development Fund, constituted abuse of authority.
The commission is alleging that by stopping the arrests and prosecution of the few targeted MPs, the AG was obstructing the process they had already undertaken to arrest and prosecute the four legislators.
The commission is further alleging that the AG is obstructing the process in favour of certain unnamed politicians.
Speaking to The Sunday Mail on condition of anonymity, one of the commissioners, who is disgruntled and is feeling bad after the fact, said the move would compromise the integrity of the commission as too much politics was now at play.
"Yes, I can confirm we voted unanimously, but on second thoughts I am realising this whole thing has gone political. The commission has been politicised and this will compromise our operations. It's unfortunate, but the reality is that the arrest of the AG is imminent.
"As you know, this commission, although it is a constitutional body, is also a political body as it was born out of the GPA and has nominees from three political parties. The commission has nine commissioners â€" four who were nominated by Zanu-PF, three nominees from MDC-T and two from the smaller faction of the MDC.
"However, the two commissioners from the smaller MDC party are not attending meetings of the commission and therefore on the day we voted, we were seven and we unanimously voted for the arrest of the AG," said the commissioner.
This dramatic development will certainly have serious constitutional ramifications as, according to the Constitution, the AG does not work under the authority of anyone and in cases where there are charges of misconduct against the AG, there is a laid-down procedure that is followed.
"Following the voting, I checked with some legal experts and I was told that there are laid-down procedures to be followed if we want to charge the AG. I was told that if there are any charges against the AG, his case is treated the same way judges are treated where a tribunal is set to look into the matter. I was told that we can't operate outside this process because any move will seem like we are seeking to instill fear and disable the AG from making judgments freely.
"I am beginning to see the problem of allowing political parties to nominate representatives to constitutional bodies because people can cross the floor leading to what has just happened," said the commissioner. It is, however, understood that when Mr Tomana wrote the said letter on March 5 2012, his office, through its provincial structures around the country, had been inundated with calls from members of the public who were complaining that MPs in their areas had also abused CDF funds but were going scot-free.
The AG and the police were being accused by the public of being selective in their arrests and, following the massive complaints, Mr Tomana felt the matter needed to be treated fairly and in a manner that inspired public confidence. As a result of the complaints, the AG was of the view that he could not rectify the situation without consulting the
Ministry of Constitutional Affairs and the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Earlier in the day on March 5 2012, the AG called the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs, Mrs Virginia Mabhiza, and pointed out the issues that were being raised by the public regarding the CDF issue.
It is understood that Mrs Mabhiza told the AG that she also shared the same view that the issue needed to be handled properly as her ministry was also getting the same complaints from the public.
In particular, Mrs Mabhiza is alleged to have told the AG that the Anti-Corruption Commission was running ahead of everyone in handling the CDF issue. The AG then asked Mrs Mabhiza to come to his office in order to agree on the common way forward, and she agreed. The AG also called the chairman of the commission, Mr Chirindo, and advised him of the burning issues.
Subsequently, the three met physically at the AG's office and discussed the matter. The major agreement that was reached by the three was that they must allow the entire audit to be finished and not concentrate on only 65 constituencies.
Reports say Mrs Mabhiza was the one who said the auditing of all the constituencies would be completed by June while Mr Chirindo undertook to put in abeyance the arrest of anyone until the audit was complete. The AG also agreed that until the auditing was complete, he would stop prosecuting anyone regarding the CDF funds.
It was then agreed that the AG would put in writing what the three had agreed and so later in the afternoon he wrote the two letters to Mrs Mabhiza and Mr Chirindo summarising the position they had taken. In the letters, Mr Tomana even wrote that "I refer to my discussion with you earlier today" showing that the three had indeed met and came up with the position to allow the auditing of all the constituencies.
Highly placed Government sources familiar with the development allege that, subsequently, politics hijacked the whole process, creating the false impression that the AG had acted unilaterally and had given a directive to the Minister of Constitutional Affairs, Mr Eric Matinenga."
The sources said some media houses also politicised the whole process leading to a lot of misrepresentations.The sources expressed concern why the fact that Mr Chirindo and
Mrs Mabhiza were involved in reaching the decision was being ignored now.
The sources said they could not understand how a decision seeking to investigate everyone can be miscued to mean protecting anyone.
"What the three agreed is what is happening â€" the audit is under way and no one is off the hook. The decision to arrest the AG is fundamentally at odds with how the process started. The decision is only meant to cause political embarrassment and nothing else," said the sources.
The Government sources said the political corridors over the past few months have been filled with talk that the MDC-T has taken a decision to use the Anti-Corruption Commission as its weapon of choice in its political battle against Zanu-PF.
The party has allegedly targeted individuals perceived to be key in the Zanu-PF scheme of things with the AG as the top priority.
The MDC-T has in the past tried to deal with the AG through the GPA as its negotiators pushed for his removal. After the failure to deal with him through the GPA, the MDC-T tried to use Copac to have the AG post abolished, but this also failed.
It is understood that the commission has tasked the chief executive of the commission, one commissioner and the investigators to effect the arrest.
The charge against Mr Tomana is that the letter he wrote to the chairman of the commission, Mr Denford Chirindo, on March 5 2012 calling for the auditing of all 210 parliamentary constituencies instead of the 65 that were being targeted for abusing the Constituency Development Fund, constituted abuse of authority.
The commission is alleging that by stopping the arrests and prosecution of the few targeted MPs, the AG was obstructing the process they had already undertaken to arrest and prosecute the four legislators.
The commission is further alleging that the AG is obstructing the process in favour of certain unnamed politicians.
Speaking to The Sunday Mail on condition of anonymity, one of the commissioners, who is disgruntled and is feeling bad after the fact, said the move would compromise the integrity of the commission as too much politics was now at play.
"Yes, I can confirm we voted unanimously, but on second thoughts I am realising this whole thing has gone political. The commission has been politicised and this will compromise our operations. It's unfortunate, but the reality is that the arrest of the AG is imminent.
"As you know, this commission, although it is a constitutional body, is also a political body as it was born out of the GPA and has nominees from three political parties. The commission has nine commissioners â€" four who were nominated by Zanu-PF, three nominees from MDC-T and two from the smaller faction of the MDC.
"However, the two commissioners from the smaller MDC party are not attending meetings of the commission and therefore on the day we voted, we were seven and we unanimously voted for the arrest of the AG," said the commissioner.
This dramatic development will certainly have serious constitutional ramifications as, according to the Constitution, the AG does not work under the authority of anyone and in cases where there are charges of misconduct against the AG, there is a laid-down procedure that is followed.
"Following the voting, I checked with some legal experts and I was told that there are laid-down procedures to be followed if we want to charge the AG. I was told that if there are any charges against the AG, his case is treated the same way judges are treated where a tribunal is set to look into the matter. I was told that we can't operate outside this process because any move will seem like we are seeking to instill fear and disable the AG from making judgments freely.
"I am beginning to see the problem of allowing political parties to nominate representatives to constitutional bodies because people can cross the floor leading to what has just happened," said the commissioner. It is, however, understood that when Mr Tomana wrote the said letter on March 5 2012, his office, through its provincial structures around the country, had been inundated with calls from members of the public who were complaining that MPs in their areas had also abused CDF funds but were going scot-free.
The AG and the police were being accused by the public of being selective in their arrests and, following the massive complaints, Mr Tomana felt the matter needed to be treated fairly and in a manner that inspired public confidence. As a result of the complaints, the AG was of the view that he could not rectify the situation without consulting the
Ministry of Constitutional Affairs and the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Earlier in the day on March 5 2012, the AG called the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs, Mrs Virginia Mabhiza, and pointed out the issues that were being raised by the public regarding the CDF issue.
It is understood that Mrs Mabhiza told the AG that she also shared the same view that the issue needed to be handled properly as her ministry was also getting the same complaints from the public.
In particular, Mrs Mabhiza is alleged to have told the AG that the Anti-Corruption Commission was running ahead of everyone in handling the CDF issue. The AG then asked Mrs Mabhiza to come to his office in order to agree on the common way forward, and she agreed. The AG also called the chairman of the commission, Mr Chirindo, and advised him of the burning issues.
Subsequently, the three met physically at the AG's office and discussed the matter. The major agreement that was reached by the three was that they must allow the entire audit to be finished and not concentrate on only 65 constituencies.
Reports say Mrs Mabhiza was the one who said the auditing of all the constituencies would be completed by June while Mr Chirindo undertook to put in abeyance the arrest of anyone until the audit was complete. The AG also agreed that until the auditing was complete, he would stop prosecuting anyone regarding the CDF funds.
It was then agreed that the AG would put in writing what the three had agreed and so later in the afternoon he wrote the two letters to Mrs Mabhiza and Mr Chirindo summarising the position they had taken. In the letters, Mr Tomana even wrote that "I refer to my discussion with you earlier today" showing that the three had indeed met and came up with the position to allow the auditing of all the constituencies.
Highly placed Government sources familiar with the development allege that, subsequently, politics hijacked the whole process, creating the false impression that the AG had acted unilaterally and had given a directive to the Minister of Constitutional Affairs, Mr Eric Matinenga."
The sources said some media houses also politicised the whole process leading to a lot of misrepresentations.The sources expressed concern why the fact that Mr Chirindo and
Mrs Mabhiza were involved in reaching the decision was being ignored now.
The sources said they could not understand how a decision seeking to investigate everyone can be miscued to mean protecting anyone.
"What the three agreed is what is happening â€" the audit is under way and no one is off the hook. The decision to arrest the AG is fundamentally at odds with how the process started. The decision is only meant to cause political embarrassment and nothing else," said the sources.
The Government sources said the political corridors over the past few months have been filled with talk that the MDC-T has taken a decision to use the Anti-Corruption Commission as its weapon of choice in its political battle against Zanu-PF.
The party has allegedly targeted individuals perceived to be key in the Zanu-PF scheme of things with the AG as the top priority.
The MDC-T has in the past tried to deal with the AG through the GPA as its negotiators pushed for his removal. After the failure to deal with him through the GPA, the MDC-T tried to use Copac to have the AG post abolished, but this also failed.
Source - SM
