Opinion / Columnist
For goodness sake, where is Zacc?
11 Jul 2019 at 07:32hrs | Views
THE Mutare Magistrate Court should be given the thumbs up and heartily congratulated for fast-tracking the trial and sentencing of one maid who stole US$25 000 from Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa.
We just hope that magistrate Nortilda Muchineripi was not under any undue pressure to fast-track the case because there are so many serious cases that are taking forever to just get a trial date. Many people are languishing in remand prison or out on bail as their cases take ages to be concluded.
While the court has done its bit to bag this case, we wish to awaken the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) on this US$25 000 that most likely tempted the poor maid to help herself to it. The owner of that money was, of course, not the minister Mutsvangwa, but her relative. Our curiosity on this money arises from the fact that the owner of the money is not employed and is this, by any chance, not a starting point for Zacc to sniff around under its "explain your wealth" mantra.
Can the owner of this money convincingly explain to Zacc how she happened to raise all that money when we understand that she is actually unemployed? We are sure it is perfectly in order for someone to be curious. We are pretty certain that, under the country's supreme law, it's not a crime to be curious, or even to suspect someone of something.
What emboldens us most to boldly raise our concern over this US$25 000 is what Zacc chairperson, Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo has been telling us ever since she took over the reins of this very critical institution mandated to fight corruption in all its forms and guises.
She has said: "The courts on their own will not be able to root out and stem corrupt activities without active public participation. It is everyone's duty to resist and report corruption whenever and wherever encountered. This is because corruption is so endemic that it now exists at every level of human endeavour… The challenge, therefore, today not only to us, but to each player, is that justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done. From the highest office to the lowest citizen, Zimbabwe is thirsty for justice in corruption-related matters. Integrity has to be a culture if we are to win the war against this vice…I can confirm that the economic challenges being experienced in this country are mainly as a result of corruption. Once we join hands in fighting corruption, we will win and our economic challenges will disappear,"
So we are sure it should be okay to ask Zacc to investigate this US$25 000 issue, just to clear the air, specifically to find out how this unemployed lady managed to raise all this money in a country that is failing to raise enough to import key essentials for its hospitals. After all, someone is innocent until proven guilty. We are merely pointing out to Zacc an instance where it can sharpen its investigation skills. They are being paid to investigate, aren't they?
We just hope that magistrate Nortilda Muchineripi was not under any undue pressure to fast-track the case because there are so many serious cases that are taking forever to just get a trial date. Many people are languishing in remand prison or out on bail as their cases take ages to be concluded.
While the court has done its bit to bag this case, we wish to awaken the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) on this US$25 000 that most likely tempted the poor maid to help herself to it. The owner of that money was, of course, not the minister Mutsvangwa, but her relative. Our curiosity on this money arises from the fact that the owner of the money is not employed and is this, by any chance, not a starting point for Zacc to sniff around under its "explain your wealth" mantra.
Can the owner of this money convincingly explain to Zacc how she happened to raise all that money when we understand that she is actually unemployed? We are sure it is perfectly in order for someone to be curious. We are pretty certain that, under the country's supreme law, it's not a crime to be curious, or even to suspect someone of something.
What emboldens us most to boldly raise our concern over this US$25 000 is what Zacc chairperson, Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo has been telling us ever since she took over the reins of this very critical institution mandated to fight corruption in all its forms and guises.
She has said: "The courts on their own will not be able to root out and stem corrupt activities without active public participation. It is everyone's duty to resist and report corruption whenever and wherever encountered. This is because corruption is so endemic that it now exists at every level of human endeavour… The challenge, therefore, today not only to us, but to each player, is that justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done. From the highest office to the lowest citizen, Zimbabwe is thirsty for justice in corruption-related matters. Integrity has to be a culture if we are to win the war against this vice…I can confirm that the economic challenges being experienced in this country are mainly as a result of corruption. Once we join hands in fighting corruption, we will win and our economic challenges will disappear,"
So we are sure it should be okay to ask Zacc to investigate this US$25 000 issue, just to clear the air, specifically to find out how this unemployed lady managed to raise all this money in a country that is failing to raise enough to import key essentials for its hospitals. After all, someone is innocent until proven guilty. We are merely pointing out to Zacc an instance where it can sharpen its investigation skills. They are being paid to investigate, aren't they?
Source - newsday
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