Is this another catch-and-release?

The arrest of Neville Mutsvangwa has just ruffled feathers and opened a can of worms in Zanu PF's political factional fights.

Is this government really serious about fighting corruption in the country, or is it another catch-and-release drama that the people have been subjected to since the coming of the new republic, born out of a coup?

We know that Neville Mutsvangwa is not the only son of a political stalwart involved in money laundering in the country, but there are many of them who are hiding under their parents political affiliation.

The million-dollar question is: Will the Vice President Chiwenga honour his words when he sent a chilling statement warning people who will be found exchanging money and threatening to cripple them by whatever means?

Already, a statement issued by Neville's mother, Monica Mutsvangwa, on the arrest of her son, describing it as political victimisation, shows that all is not well in the camp and a lot of witch hunting is brewing within the revolutionary party. She claimed that her son does not trade in foreign currency and neither trades in ZiG.

Such a statement clearly shows that Zanu PF people do not respect the law but always blame it on political persecution emanating from factional fights.

Three weeks ago, the police cracked down on money changers and arrested more than 70 black-market forex dealers in Harare, whom authorities say were distorting exchange rates. These suspects have been refused bail.

Now all eyes are on Neville Mutsvangwa, who has been arrested on the same charges. The people are waiting to see how independent our judiciary is. Is it going to deny Neville bail, or is he going to be granted bail on his next court appearance? This is a litmus test for our judiciary.

This week we saw Mayor Wadayajena recover his fleet of 23-tonne haulage trucks plus a Lamborghini SUV, which were held in August 2022 when he and five others were facing charges of defrauding the Cottonne Company of Zimbabwe of US$5,8 million.

In a judgement delivered by Justice Tawanda Chitapi of the High Court, he granted the release of Wadyejena's fleet and found that the seizure of his property was unlawful.

Currently, the nation is patiently waiting to see how this case will go, but it is not going to surprise many to see it die a silent death. The road to eradicating selective application of the law seems to be too bumpy for this new dispensation.


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