News / National
BREAKING: Former State House Boss Arrested
30 Jul 2019 at 18:50hrs | Views
The Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission (Zacc) on Tuesday arrested former State Residence principal director Douglas Tapfuma over allegations of criminal abuse of office involving irregular importation of vehicles.
Tapfuma's lawyer Valentine Mutatu said his client is detained at Harare's Malbereign Police Station and will appear in court on Wednesday.
Well-placed sources said Tapfuma was facing several allegations, including abusing Mnangagwa's name and using letters from the President's Office to facilitate the importation of vehicles for friends and relatives duty-free.
The same letters were also allegedly being used to evade paying Zimbabwe National Road Administration toll gate fees.
He was also implicated in alleged corrupt deals, including the disappearance of $6,4 million at Hwange Colliery.
Tapfuma was President Mnangagwa's right-hand man when he returned from exile to seize power following the military coup that toppled former President Robert Mugabe.
He was early last year elevated to director State residencies following the sacking of Innocent Tizora, Mugabe's last director in charge of presidential properties.
But Tapfuma was to be relegated to a less influential post of the principal director, monitoring and evaluation in the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), after allegations of abuse of office exploded into the public domain.
According to the sources, the reassignment, instigated by Mnangagwa, was been done to pave way for investigations into Tapfuma's alleged misconduct.
The Zanu-PF leader was reportedly irked after his name was dragged into the Hwange Colliery saga where $6,4 million meant for exploration could not be accounted for.
"He (Mnangagwa) had received many complaints about Tapfuma before, but the Hwange issue was the last straw," a well-placed source said.
Tapfuma's arrest is the second by Zacc after Tourism Minister was nabbed last week over corruption and criminal abuse of office.
Tapfuma's lawyer Valentine Mutatu said his client is detained at Harare's Malbereign Police Station and will appear in court on Wednesday.
Well-placed sources said Tapfuma was facing several allegations, including abusing Mnangagwa's name and using letters from the President's Office to facilitate the importation of vehicles for friends and relatives duty-free.
The same letters were also allegedly being used to evade paying Zimbabwe National Road Administration toll gate fees.
He was also implicated in alleged corrupt deals, including the disappearance of $6,4 million at Hwange Colliery.
Tapfuma was President Mnangagwa's right-hand man when he returned from exile to seize power following the military coup that toppled former President Robert Mugabe.
He was early last year elevated to director State residencies following the sacking of Innocent Tizora, Mugabe's last director in charge of presidential properties.
But Tapfuma was to be relegated to a less influential post of the principal director, monitoring and evaluation in the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC), after allegations of abuse of office exploded into the public domain.
According to the sources, the reassignment, instigated by Mnangagwa, was been done to pave way for investigations into Tapfuma's alleged misconduct.
The Zanu-PF leader was reportedly irked after his name was dragged into the Hwange Colliery saga where $6,4 million meant for exploration could not be accounted for.
"He (Mnangagwa) had received many complaints about Tapfuma before, but the Hwange issue was the last straw," a well-placed source said.
Tapfuma's arrest is the second by Zacc after Tourism Minister was nabbed last week over corruption and criminal abuse of office.
Source - Byo24News
