Anti-Corruption investigators flees gunmen, turn to Mugabe

Investigators from the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission claim that they were on Monday and yesterday barred by gun-toting men from entering the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Board offices in central Harare to investigate alleged acts of corruption.

ZACC spokesperson Godwin Shana could neither deny nor confirm the developments.

The High Court on Monday granted ZACC a search warrant reportedly to probe alleged acts of corruption in various government ministries and departments.

The anti-graft body, however, reportedly faced resistance from targeted offices, resulting in the move to seek the President's assistance.

Although NewsDay could not impeccably establish whether or not the meeting did take place by the time of going to print, the paper is reliably informed ZACC did seek Mugabe's intervention to allow the commission to do its job without police interference.

Asked for comment last night, Mugabe's spokesperson George Charamba retorted with a question: "Meeting the President on Cabinet day? Ask the police."

According to the sources at ZACC, ZMDC chairperson Godwills Masimirembwa called Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri seeking protection from the planned ZACC raid.

Chihuri allegedly responded immediately with deployments at both the ZMDC Msasa headquarters and ZACC offices at Livingstone House along Samora Machel Avenue.

But police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba denied Chihuri had been called in connection with that matter.

"I can confirm the Commissioner-General was never phoned. The best person to comment on that is Masimirembwa," Charamba said.

Masimirembwa confirmed he had called Chihuri after ZACC officers arrived at ZMDC offices in Msasa without police escort as required by the law, claiming they had been advised police were busy with the referendum.

"I called the Commissioner-General to clarify the ZACC claims and he told me the police were available and that's when they arrived," Masimirembwa said, denying ZACC officers had been turned away by armed police. He did not explain what then transpired.

"This is not the first time that they have come without police escort. They came in 2010 again without police escort as required by Section 13 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act."

While confirming ZACC had brought a search warrant from the High Court, Masimirembwa said ZMDC lawyers would be challenging the legality of the warrant on the grounds that it was not issued by the proper authority. Ordinarily, the Magistrates' Court is supposed to issue such warrants, he said.

ZMDC falls under Mines minister Obert Mpofu.

Mpofu yesterday said: "I read about the ZACC probe in the newspaper. I know nothing about it."

ZACC reportedly secured a search warrant from the High Court after several efforts to get it from the police and the Magistrates' Court failed.

Masimirembwa further said the warrant did not cite the Mines ministry or ZMDC, but the Mining Affairs Board, the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ), both departments in the ministry.