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Mzembi's legal woes deepen
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Former Foreign Affairs Minister Walter Mzembi's legal troubles continue to mount after Harare regional magistrate Donald Ndirowei dismissed his latest application challenging his placement on remand, ordering him to return to court on Friday for trial date allocation.
Mzembi, who was arrested in June upon his return home after years in self-imposed exile, had sought to quash his remand arguing it was unlawful. However, Magistrate Ndirowei ruled that his failure to attend court since 2018 was deliberate and upheld the remand.
Mzembi left Zimbabwe in 2018 under a cloud of corruption allegations in the aftermath of the November 2017 coup that removed the late former President Robert Mugabe from power. He now faces charges of theft of trust property and criminal abuse of office.
While Mzembi has been previously linked to multiple corruption allegations, one of his most high-profile cases - involving US$1.8 million raised for the 2013 United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) conference - ended with an acquittal. Mzembi, alongside four others including former tourism secretary Magret Mukahanana Sangarwe, had been accused of converting four Ford Ranger vehicles purchased for the UNWTO summit in Victoria Falls to their personal use. They were acquitted between 2019 and 2021.
The latest dismissal follows the court's confirmation of three outstanding warrants of arrest against Mzembi, issued after his failure to appear in court since November 2018.
His attempt to have the warrants cancelled was thrown out after the magistrate ruled that his absence had been intentional.
With his trial date now pending, Mzembi's efforts to shake off his long-running corruption cases appear increasingly futile as the legal system closes in on him.
Mzembi, who was arrested in June upon his return home after years in self-imposed exile, had sought to quash his remand arguing it was unlawful. However, Magistrate Ndirowei ruled that his failure to attend court since 2018 was deliberate and upheld the remand.
Mzembi left Zimbabwe in 2018 under a cloud of corruption allegations in the aftermath of the November 2017 coup that removed the late former President Robert Mugabe from power. He now faces charges of theft of trust property and criminal abuse of office.
While Mzembi has been previously linked to multiple corruption allegations, one of his most high-profile cases - involving US$1.8 million raised for the 2013 United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) conference - ended with an acquittal. Mzembi, alongside four others including former tourism secretary Magret Mukahanana Sangarwe, had been accused of converting four Ford Ranger vehicles purchased for the UNWTO summit in Victoria Falls to their personal use. They were acquitted between 2019 and 2021.
The latest dismissal follows the court's confirmation of three outstanding warrants of arrest against Mzembi, issued after his failure to appear in court since November 2018.
His attempt to have the warrants cancelled was thrown out after the magistrate ruled that his absence had been intentional.
With his trial date now pending, Mzembi's efforts to shake off his long-running corruption cases appear increasingly futile as the legal system closes in on him.
Source - online
