Mugabe orders Jonathan Moyo to have his day in court

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has ordered Higher and Tertiary Education minister Jonathan Moyo to co-operate with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) as well as have his day in court in order to clear his name, NewsDay has established.

This came as Zacc yesterday also arrested Moyo's deputy, Godfrey Gandawa, and Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (Zimdef) chief executive officer Fredrick Mandizvidza, a day after their boss was nabbed by the anti-graft body.

But, last night, Moyo launched a spirited campaign against his arrest by lodging an urgent application at the Constitutional Court seeking to declare as unconstitutional Zacc's powers to apprehend him.

He argued that acting Prosecutor-General Ray Goba had no legal standing to order Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri to arrest him. Moyo wants the court to set aside the Zacc search warrants.

Given Moyo's spirited attempts to scupper his graft case, it was uncertain if his case would proceed at
the magistrates' courts today.

Moyo is facing, among other charges, graft, fraud and abuse of office relating to the alleged siphoning of over $400 000 from Zimdef coffers, which he allegedly diverted to personal use.

"Moyo met the President (Mugabe) after Cabinet on Tuesday and after explaining his position and view relating to the charges preferred against him by Zacc, was ordered to present himself to the commission. The President was clear that if Moyo was confident that he did nothing wrong, then it should be up to the courts to clear the minister," an insider told NewsDay.

Moyo also reportedly met First Lady Grace Mugabe in a bid to stall his then imminent arrest, but all seemed to have been in vain.

"The First Lady told Moyo to face his demons," NewsDay also heard.

Mugabe has watched while his lieutenants fight over control of his former guerilla movement. The ruling Zanu PF party is virtually split into two with Moyo a member of a group of Young Turks going by the moniker G40, fighting against Team Lacoste reportedly sympathetic to Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The Higher Education minister continued to use his social networking micro blogging Twitter account to respond to public questions over his role in the scandal and arrest.

Mocked by one follower who said he had handed himself to Zacc because he was "tired of being on the run", Moyo responded: "Public officials like me who have taken the oath to uphold the Constitution and the laws of Zimbabwe have a duty to do so and to be seen to do so!"

On his decision to surrender to Zacc after mocking the same organisation a few days earlier, Moyo said: "It feels like being summoned by lions to their den!"

Moyo, after weeks of intransigence – including issuing a damning statement in which he alleged Zacc was improperly constituted as well as claims that it had been captured by Mnangagwa to fight Zanu PF factional battles – relented and was arrested on Wednesday.

He was then released into the custody of his lawyer, Terrence Hussein, after almost five hours of grilling.

Zacc spokesperson Phyllis Chikundura yesterday confirmed Gandawa and Mandizvidza would appear in court today.

Gandawa and Mandizvidza were released later yesterday into the custody of their lawyers to appear in court today.

The deputy minister will join Moyo, who will also be expected to appear in court today after spending the better part of Wednesday under the Zacc grill.

Chikundura yesterday confirmed that both Gandawa and Mandizvidza were questioned by the anti-graft body.

"He (Gandawa) has been released. He has been jointly charged with Mandizvidza and both will appear in court tomorrow (today)," Chikundura said.

The Zacc offices in Mt Pleasant were on Wednesday crawling with State security agents, plainclothes detectives and the commission's investigators. Moyo was reportedly roasted by a team that comprised intelligence operatives, police, military intelligence as well as Zacc officials.

Moyo and Gandawa are alleged to have used the deputy minister's company, Fuzzy Technologies, to swindle Zimdef of money meant for manpower development. Some of the money was allegedly used to fund Moyo's donations to his constituency.