FORMER ministers Joseph Made and Jason Machaya have been
arrested for abuse of office. Made, who is a former Agriculture, Mechanisation
and Irrigation Development Minister, is detained at Rhodesville Police Station
in Harare.
Chief police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner
Charity Charamba referred all questions to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption
Commission (ZACC).
ZACC principal public relations officer Ms Phyllis
Chikundura said she was not aware of the developments as she was on leave.
Sources close to the investigations confirmed the arrest of
Made, while our Midlands Bureau reports that Machaya, a former Midlands
Provincial Affairs Minister, is suspected to have abused his office when he
reportedly allocated land to private developers.
Machaya’s lawyer, Mr Hillary Garikayi of Garikayi and
Company law firm, yesterday said he was still to get details of the case.
“I have only heard that my client has been summoned to the
police, but I am still to gather the details,” he said.
Sources said Machaya was summoned to Gweru Central Police
Station and was later taken to Gokwe Police Station. They said the charges stem
from the manner in which he allegedly allocated land to private developers
across the province.
“Six private developers were also summoned to the police in
connection with the case. They have been asked to avail their papers and
explain how they got the land, which they were developing,” said the source.
“He (Machaya) was taken to Gokwe and the allegations
levelled against him were handed over to police in Gokwe to start
investigations,” said the source.
The Herald saw a list of about 60 land cases in which
Machaya is being implicated. Also implicated are senior Government officials in
the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing in the
Midlands Province.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has made the fight against the
scourge of corruption one of his top priorities if the country is to attract
investors and achieve prosperity for the majority. herald
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