Juma was first arrested in 2016 for abuse of office but was
released after former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko stormed Avondale Police
Station and demanded his release.
He was rearrested in 2018 and sentenced to 30 months in
prison and was supposed to serve two years in jail after six months were suspended
from his sentence.
Juma was arrested for handpicking a tax consultancy company
on a contract worth US$500 000 without going to tender as required to promote
good governance.
Following his conviction, Juma approached the High Court
appealing against his conviction and was granted $5 000 bail. The Apex court
upheld his sentence.
In a statement yesterday, Zacc said since the court upheld
his conviction, Juma has vanished and is now on the wanted list.
“Moses Julius Juma, former Zinara acting chief executive
officer, is a fugitive from justice. He was convicted and sentenced for
criminal abuse of duty at the Rotten Row Magistrate Court. However, he appealed
at the High Court against his conviction and sentence. He lost his appeal and
has to serve his sentence. Anyone with information on his whereabouts to advise
the ZACC on the following WhatsApp number 0719529483 or tipoff line
0242307065-7 0r 02422369602/5/8/14,” read a Zacc statement posted on Twitter.
In an interview, Zacc national spokesperson Commissioner
John Makamure said the anti-graft commission is lobbying for strict bail
conditions for those facing corruption charges so that they do not escape from
justice.
He said suspects were taking advantage of the country’s
Constitution that guarantees bail for suspected criminals.
“The Constitution entitles suspects to bail but you will
then find some criminals skipping bail. What is also required is that stringent
bail conditions must be imposed for corruption cases. We are already advocating
for that, especially on high profile corruption cases so that suspects cannot
skip bail. We understand that suspects are entitled to bail as per our
constitution but stringent bail conditions are necessary,” said Comm Makamure.
Government has committed to fighting corruption in the
country with several high-profile people being arrested on alleged graft
charges.
This anti-graft crusade has claimed Cabinet ministers with
former Health and Child Care Minister Dr Obadiah Moyo and ex-Environment,
Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Priscilla Mupfumira axed
from Government as they answer to corruption cases.
Former Midlands Provincial Minister Jason Machaya was in
September convicted for abuse of office after he was involved in the illegal
allocation of 17 799 commercial and residential stands on State land in Gokwe.
Machaya (68) received 1 791 stands back from the developers and entities he had allocated the State land to and had already sold 1 185 to individuals, pocketing US$900 000. Former Energy and Power Development Minister Samuel Undenge, who was accused of prejudicing the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) of $12 650, was in 2018 sentenced to an effective two-and-a-half years in prison. Undenge appeared before Harare regional magistrate Mr Hoseah Mujaya facing charges of abuse of office and was convicted after a full trial.
He was sentenced to four years in prison, with
one-and-a-half years suspended on condition he does not commit a similar crime.
Undenge in 2016 handpicked a public relations company owned
by Zanu-PF legislator Psychology Maziwisa and former ZBC news anchor Oscar
Pambuka to do work for ZPC without going to tender.
President Mnangagwa has committed to zero tolerance to
corruption in the country. Herald
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