The long arm of the law has caught up with current and
former top executives of the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) who
are set to appear in court soon on allegations of corruption and underhand
dealings that are estimated to have prejudiced the statutory body of millions
of dollars.
The case is one of several high-profile cases being pursued
by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Government has declared war on corruption and has since
launched anti-corruption courts in Harare and Bulawayo.
Presently, the NPA is part of an inter-agency team prying
into scores of high-profile cases involving irregular distribution of urban and
peri-urban land, externalisation of foreign currency and the flouting of tender
procedures.
Prosecutor-General Mr Kumbirai Hodzi told The Sunday Mail
last week that Zinara executives are likely to appear in court anytime this
week.
“Some top officials and former top officials have been
arrested. The prejudice runs into millions of dollars. We are still doing a
number of things to unpack all that happened. I do not want to prejudice the
rights of the accused and all I can do is to allude to the case without making
any particular references,” said Mr Hodzi.
He said corruption at Zinara, which had gone unpunished for
several years, had limited its ability to rehabilitate the country’s roads.
“With the Zinara (case), you will be very angry because it
shows people, whatever they were doing, at the end of the day, were corrupting
the whole system for their personal benefit.
“Money that was supposed to go to roads did not go there.”
It is understood that the NPA has been given carte blanche
to prosecute the cases.
Mr Hodzi said, “The Zinara case is one of the high-profile
matters which was delayed, it should have been prosecuted years ago. When I
came in, even the Executive were quite upset with the matter and they have
given us full blessings to get to the bottom of the matter.”
The noose is also reportedly tightening on suspected land
barons.
“We have teams on the ground. I know for certain what most
of the issues are. It is not only in Harare, but countrywide, places such as
Gweru and Victoria Falls. Some of the culprits include a mixture of
businesspeople and politicians.”
Mr Hodzi was appointed acting PG following the suspension
and subsequent resignation of Advocate Ray Goba.
The new broom at the NPA has since undertaken a major
shake-up at the crime-fighting unit.
The Sunday Mail has established that the NPA, working in
collaboration with the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and the Special
Anti-Corruption Unit in the Office of the President and Cabinet, has unearthed
several damning cases that will soon spill into court.
Some cases involve individuals and companies that
disregarded President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s amnesty to return externalised funds
and assets.
The NPA is also reportedly feeding off evidence that is
being gathered by the Justice Uchena Commission of Inquiry on the sale of State
land in order to bring implicated culprits to book.
So far, two dockets have been completed.
Measures have also been taken to prevent corruption among
prosecutors and ensure that cases are attended to expeditiously.
The NPA will therefore be deploying at least three senior
prosecutors for high-profile cases.
Acquittals will be subject to rigorous scrutiny.
Furthermore, a directive has also been issued to ensure
that graft cases are concluded within a three-month period.
Added Mr Hodzi: “Further, when handling a matter now, there
will be a minimum of three serious prosecutors as counter-measures and
counter-controls.
“This is for serious matters that include commercial
offences and serious crimes and every matter of corruption is regarded as a
serious offence, especially if it is involving abuse of office.
“Why those controls? We want to ensure that for trials,
there is high quality evidence, the dockets that we produce are of sufficiently
high quality such that we are assured of conviction.”
Prosecutors, he said, are no longer allowed to keep dockets
for inordinately long periods of time.
“We are giving ourselves three months to ensure that
everything is in order and trial dates are set.
“Within that period, everything must be set up with the
docket ready for prosecutions. Prosecutions must also be continuous, there must
be no long remands, even trial dates,” said Mr Hodzi.
“Periods of trial, depending on the case, the complexity of
the matter and the quality and length of evidence, are set at three and four
days.
“It is no longer the case that a person is remanded for
trial and then when they come for trial, the matter spills over and is rolled
over to the following month.
“Trials must now be completed in the shortest possible time
and long remands, unless there are compelling reasons, must be avoided,” he
said. Sunday Mail
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