Vic Falls residents push for clarity in Town Clerk probe

The Victoria Falls Residents Consortium has petitioned police to speed up a corruption probe into Town Clerk Ronnie Dube, who has been at the centre of controversy over the allocation of stands and other alleged irregularities at the city council.

The renewed push comes after Dube was reinstated earlier this year by Local Government and Public Works minister Daniel Garwe, a move that divided opinion in the resort city.

Allegations against Dube date back to 2024, when a board of inquiry ruled that he had a case to answer over the disposal of council property. Issues flagged included the allocation of residential stands under the BE100 scheme, the hiring of a consultancy said to have prejudiced council of over US$157 000, and the sale of Stand Number 1829.

Based on those findings, the local authority suspended Dube, but Garwe later overturned the decision, citing provisions of the Urban Councils Act.

In its latest correspondence to national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, the residents' consortium demanded updates on case number 6219269, filed against Dube.

"On behalf of Victoria Falls community, Herbert Ncube and Trymore Ndolo, under the Victoria Falls Residents Consortium banner, filed a case against Ronnie Dube, the Town Clerk of Victoria Falls City Council. We made numerous follow ups per attached correspondence, and the residents feel the responses from the authorities do not satisfy their expectations in line with the evidence at hand," reads part of the letter.

Earlier, residents had approached police in Victoria Falls and Hwange, but in June they were told the case had been referred to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc).

"Kindly be advised that the case was initially reported to and investigated by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission. The outcome was not shared with the police. In light of this, we recognise that the police cannot conduct parallel investigations with Zacc," local police said in their June 20 correspondence.

The consortium, however, insists the delays have worsened public concerns, citing what they describe as "fresh allegations of abuse of land allocation procedures at the VFCC (Victoria Falls City Council) and harassment of employees for cooperating with Zacc and the board of inquiry."

Dube's legal team maintains that due process was not followed during the inquiry. In correspondence seen by the Zimbabwe Independent, Ncube Attorneys argued that no substantive charges were put to their client and that the board lacked the authority to proceed without ministerial approval.

Minutes of a December 10, 2024 meeting show that Advocate Ndlovu, representing Dube, challenged the board's jurisdiction, pointing to Garwe's December 6 letter rescinding the suspension and declaring it inconsistent with Section 139(4) of the Urban Councils Act.

The composition of the three-member board was also challenged in the High Court.

For now, residents remain adamant that authorities must move decisively. "Despite all attempts to arrest corruption at VFCC, the cancer seems to be gathering momentum," the consortium warned.