The dramatic swoop on October 26 saw 21 councillors and
journalists being arrested during a full council meeting and they were taken to
Harare Central Police Station.
Some senior government officials on social media were quick
to link the arrests to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s anti-corruption fight,
but fresh details show that it was Harare Provincial Affairs minister Oliver
Chidawu flexing his muscles.
Chidawu is said to have received information that council
would adopt a report by its human resources committee paving the way for
suspended directors to return to work.
The 25 officials include human capital director Matthew
Marara, town clerk Hosea Chisango and director of housing and community
services Admore Nhekairo.
Unbeknown to Chidawu and the police, councillors had agreed
to put the report aside. This followed a meeting between MDC-T councillors and
the minister. The raid happened when councillors were rounding up the business
of the day.
“There was a meeting recently with the minister and he was
angry about the (human resources committee) report,” said a councillor, who
requested to remain anonymous.
“We withdrew that report and these people came with a view
that we wanted to bring back ‘thieves’ to council.”
Chidawu is said to have read the riot act to the MDC-T
councillors during the meeting that preceded the police raid.
The councillors are said to have been told that the move to
reinstate the suspended officials was driven by the fear that the local
authority might incur losses arising from labour disputes.
“The report stated that those with bail conditions that
would allow them back at work could be left to come back to work,” said another
councillor.
Chidawu, sources said, was also told that council was still
paying a former finance director, who was fired last year because his case was
yet to be finalised by the Local Government Board.
Harare deputy mayor Luckson Mukunguma, who was chairing the
full council meeting, was spared the embarrassment of being dragged to the
police station after he temporarily left the chamber before the police pounced.
Mukunguma went to the police station on his own and was
asked by the police to announce to his colleagues that they had been released
without any charges being laid against them.
He confirmed to The Standard that police wanted to arrest
them over the report by the human resources committee. “They wanted to arrest
us for a crime they thought we were going to commit,” Mukunguma said.
The journalists were released following the intervention of
Misa Zimbabwe lawyer Chris Mhike.
“The police did not disclose any reason for the detention
that the journalists had to endure for about three hours,” Mhike told Misa
Zimbabwe.
Mnangagwa’s government says it is working to weed out
corruption in local authorities and has so far only targeted councils
controlled by the opposition MDC Alliance. Standard
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