Former Local Government Minister, Ignatius Chombo was
picked up by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) officers outside the
Harare Magistrates court on fresh corruption allegations.
Zacc secretary Silent Pondo confirmed to NewsDay that
Chombo was arrested and is assisting them with investigations on an undisclosed
matter.
Meanwhile, a Harare magistrate yesterday dismissed an
application for the temporary release of Chombo’s passport.
Magistrate Estere Chivasa argued that she could not release
the passport merely because the applicant has cancer.
Chombo is facing several corruption allegations. “The court
cannot simply release the passport merely because the applicant has cancer. He
made prosecution impossible, legally though, at the time when the State
indicated that they are ready for trial and now he is requesting his passport
persistently on the basis of an outdated document which militates against
release of the passport on the changed circumstances,” Chivasa said.
“It is not in dispute that the applicant was diagnosed with
cancer. A perusal of the doctor’s letter reveal apparent challenges as far as
the requirements of the present application is
concerned. Firstly, the applicant is relying on a document
which is dated February 2019, we are now in July and that on its own presents a
challenge in that it is the document that was
relied upon in the previous application and legally, there
is no change in circumstances.
“While their reasons for not attending court are not known,
this court cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that there is a trend to abuse
the indulgence. The applicant is not being punished for other people’s sins but
considering the nature of these applications and that they are informal, my
view is that the interests of justice are paramount,” she added.
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