White farmer accused of bribing Mugabe's minister

Mashonaland West commercial farmer, Rolf Forrester was arrested on Thursday afternoon on bribery charges involving the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs, Faber Chidarikire.

Forrester's lawyer, Mike Mutsvairo told The Standard yesterday that his client was picked by Chinhoyi Criminal Investigating Department (CID) on charges of trying to bribe the minister with $5 500.

Mutsvairo said the State is alleging that Forrester sent another farmer, Musarurwa Chiguvare to bribe Chidarikire so that he would not displace Forrester's family from Cambria Farm until they harvested their tobacco.

It is alleged that Forrester was renting pieces of land from about 30 A2 black farmers. Chidarikire chairs the provincial lands committee.

"The allegations the accused persons are facing are that they bribed the Minister of State in the province for Mashonaland West in the sum of $5 500. The complainant in the matter is the State because it's a bribery case," said Mutsvairo.

The farmers were subletting their pieces of land to Forrester, in exchange of which he would give them $4 000 worth of inputs and till the land for them, an arrangement the farmers said had boosted their crop production in the last two seasons.

It is the state case that Mu-sarurwa went and gave Chidarikire $5 000 in two installments of $4 000 and $1 000 respectively.

However, he was arrested by the police on his third visit to Chadarikire to give him an additional $500 after the minister had made a report.

Mutsvairo says Forrester is likely to appear in court soon.

Zanu-PF has threatened to evict beneficiaries of the country's land reforms who are sub-letting land to displaced white commercial farmers.

Chidarikire refused to comment last week.

Meanwhile, Chiguvare (48), who was charged separately, pleaded guilty to bribery charges yesterday before Chinhoyi magistrate Never Katiyo.

But during mitigation, Chiguvare's lawyer Mutsvairo said the court should be lenient with his client, mainly because the conduct of the minister "was not clean as he initially seemingly accepted the bribe".

Asked how his client found it easy to approach Chidarikire, Mutsvairo said Chiguvare was the headman at the minister's rural home.

The two, said Mutsvairo had also entered a deal where Chiguvare was to exchange maize with cattle on behalf of Chidarikire.

Chiguvare will be sentenced tomorrow.