Daggers out for Obadiah Moyo

THE recent exposure of an employee of a private laboratory who had been selling fake Covid-19 certificates has unearthed what appears to be bad blood between Agnes Mahomva, the chief co-ordinator, national response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the Office of the President and Cabinet, and former Health minister Obadiah Moyo.

Moyo owns Klosad Laboratory where one of the employees was arrested for issuing fake Covid-19 certificates. It has now emerged that some senior government officials could be leading a clandestine operation meant to disgrace Moyo through "unfounded unethical claims" about his business venture.

According to a source within the Health ministry, the Klosad Laboratory saga was "part of a series of choreographed moves meant to tarnish the former Health minister following his nasty fallout with some officials at the ministry".

Police are investigating the case of the Klosad Laboratory employee who was said to be issuing fake Covid-19 certificates. Moyo was fired for inappropriate conduct after he was accused of illegally awarding a US$60 million contract for Covid-19 medical supplies to a shadowy company that sold the government personal protective equipment at inflated prices.

The former Health minister was charged with criminal abuse of duty as a public officer. He appeared in court and was released on a bail of $50 000 in June last year.

"When Moyo was the Health minister, he allegedly had a fallout with his permanent secretary [Agnes] Mahomva, which saw her being reassigned to chief co-ordinator, national response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the Office of the President and Cabinet," the source said.

When contacted for comment, Mahomva said she had nothing to do with everything that happened to Klosad, expressing disappointment on why journalists were in the habit of linking people to issues they were not part of.

"Why trying to link people to unrelated issues?" Mahomva asked. "All I know is that some journalists called me alleging that there were some labs offering fake Covid-19-free certificates. I asked them if they had reported to the police before coming to me and they told me they had not reported.

"I told them that if there were labs involved in the issuing of fake certificates, the law should take its course. I was not specific to any lab because I knew none that was doing that. It was the journalists who had alleged. I have nothing to do with the issue (Klosad)."

Last week government launched a blitz on laboratories which were believed to be issuing fake Covid-19 certificates to travellers going outside the country. A number of laboratories were said to have been caught on the wrong side of the law. There were also reports suggesting that Moyo's laboratory signed a memorandum of understanding with a regional airline to accept Covid-19 certificates issued only by Klosad Laboratory.

"This is part of a ploy to drag the former Health minister's name into the mud. How can (the airline memorandum) that be possible?" the source asked.

Klosad Laboratory spokesperson Kenneth Madangure refuted the allegations levelled against their company.

"Klosad Laboratory was actually approached by a travel agent to provide PCR testing services to travellers buying tickets from them. The agreement was that while we got business from them, we would also discount the PCR test from the prevailing US$60 to US$50," Madangure said.