The
NewsHawks
cited
a
government
source
as
saying
that
while
Chimombe
and
Mpofu
may
have
cases
to
answer
in
their
US$7.7
million
Presidential
Goats
Scheme
fraud
and
the
US$9.2
million
Harare
City
Council
street
lights
tender
scam,
their
real
mistake
was
publicly
confronting
Chivayo
over
the
US$100
million
deal
which
ultimately
exposed
corruption
among
senior
officials.
Said
the
official:
Chimombe
and
Mpofu
may
have
cases
to
answer,
granted,
but
their
case
is
more
about
politics
or
the
politics
of
money
involving
senior
government
officials
than
corruption.
Those
corruption
cases
that
they
are
now
facing
were
known
for
some
time,
but
they
were
only
raised
and
weaponised
against
them
after
the
ZEC
scandal.All
along
it
was
known
they
had
been
involved
in
those
tenders
as
the
Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption
Commission
was
already
investigating,
but
authorities
only
pulled
the
trigger
after
the
ZEC
scandal
was
exposed.If
they
had
not
fought
Chivayo,
those
cases
were
not
going
to
see
the
light
of
the
day.
That’s
where
the
real
issue
is.They
are
being
punished
for
their
role
in
exposing
Chivayo
and
inadvertently
senior
government
officials
in
this
massive
corruption
scandal.
The
NewsHawks
report
further
alleges
that
the
Zimbabwe
Electoral
Commission
(ZEC)
scandal
has
implicated
several
high-profile
figures,
including
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa,
who
has
close
ties
to
Wicknell
Chivayo,
Secretary
to
the
President
and
Cabinet
Martin
Rushwaya,
ZEC
chairperson
Priscilla
Chigumba,
Central
Intelligence
Organisation
Director-General
Isaac
Moyo,
the
President’s
daughter
Chido,
and
other
officials
accused
of
misappropriating
public
funds
during
the
elections.
Chimombe
and
Mpofu
reportedly
clashed
with
Chivayo
over
payments,
which
ultimately
led
to
the
exposure
of
these
officials.
Although
the
Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption
Commission
(ZACC)
is
investigating
the
ZEC
scandal,
Chimombe
and
Mpofu
have
not
been
arrested
in
connection
with
it.
Instead,
they
were
detained
for
their
involvement
in
the
US$7.7
million
Presidential
Goats
Scheme
and
the
US$9.2
million
street
lights
tender.
Chivayo
and
senior
officials
are
reportedly
orchestrating
efforts
behind
the
scenes
to
ensure
Chimombe
and
Mpofu
bear
the
consequences
for
revealing
corruption.
The
two
businessmen
were
reportedly
enticed
to
return
to
Zimbabwe
from
a
business
trip
in
China,
having
been
promised
protection.
However,
their
return—which
contradicted
their
lawyers’
advice—led
to
their
arrest
and
detention.
Friends
and
associates
had
cautioned
them
that
returning
home
could
result
in
their
sacrifice.
The
NewsHawks
cited
sources
as
saying
the
pair
has
been
repeatedly
denied
bail
not
based
on
legal
merits,
but
as
a
form
of
punishment
for
not
having
good
table
manners
while
“eating”
with
VIPs
at
the
high
table.
On
Wednesday,
the
High
Court
dismissed
their
bail
appeal
for
the
second
time
regarding
the
goats
scam
case.
Their
application
in
the
street
lights
case
has
also
been
denied.
Chimombe
and
Mpofu
are
scheduled
to
return
to
court
on
September
12
for
a
routine
remand
in
the
street
lights
case,
while
their
trial
for
the
goats
case
is
set
to
begin
on
October
1.
Post
published
in:
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