The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has arrested
101 suspects this year alone, 10 of which were high-profile cases.
More prominent people are expected to be arrested and
brought before the courts early next year. Of the 101 arrests, 86 were men, and of the 10 high-profile
suspects, seven were also men.
Zacc spokesman Commissioner John Makamure said they were
finalising investigations into some high-profile cases and more arrests were
imminent.
The latest one has been that of Ms Marry Mubaiwa, the
estranged wife of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who is facing charges of
attempted murder, fraud, illegal externalisation of funds and money laundering.
“Early in the new year, Zacc expects to arraign other
high-profile suspects before the criminal justice system,” said Comm Makamure.
“Investigations are at an advanced stage on some of these high-profile cases. I
am, however, not at liberty to mention names.”
Comm Makamure said the total of 101 suspects arrested on
corruption related cases was as at Monday this week.
“We have 71 corruption cases in court,” he said. “That is
the number of dockets that we have submitted to the National Prosecuting
Authority. Of the 101 arrests we have made, 86 are men and 15 are women, that
is only 15 percent of the total number of arrests made.
“Of the 10 high-profile cases, three are women, while seven
are men. So you can see from those figures that the commission is not targeting
women. The numbers speak for themselves.”
Comm Makamure said ZACC focused on corruption cases and not
the context in which a case happened. As such, it only acted on information available to it.
Other high-profile cases Zacc has handled include that of
former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko, former Cabinet Minister Prisca
Mupfumira, Mubaiwa and former permanent secretary Ngoni Masoka.
“I would not want to comment on a case that is before the
courts, but there are sentiments being expressed that she (Mubaiwa) is a
victim,” said Comm Makamure.
“But as Zacc, we look at evidence that has been brought to
the commission. There is no way Zacc would have investigated a matter that had
not been brought to its attention. If you bring a matter to our attention, we
spring into action. That is how we operate.
“The commission does not discriminate according to gender,
political affiliation and one’s status in society. Our mandate is very clear,
we are independent and we are executing our mandate in line with the dictates
of the Constitution.
“We don’t care who the person is married or related to. We
look at the merit of the corruption case and we deal with that.” Herald
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