Chombo, Chipanga get bail in Zimbabwe high court

Zimbabwe's former finance minister, Ignatius Chombo, centre and Kudzanai Chipanga are led to a prison truck at the magistrate's courts in Harare, Zimbabwe. File picture: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP

Zimbabwe's former finance minister, Ignatius Chombo, centre and Kudzanai Chipanga are led to a prison truck at the magistrate's courts in Harare, Zimbabwe. File picture: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP

Published Dec 8, 2017

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Harare ‑ The High Court of Zimbabwe on Thursday, granted bail to former finance and economic development minister Ignatius Chombo, who was also Zanu-PF secretary for administration before he was kicked out as well as former Zanu youth league leader Kudzanayi Chipanga.

Chombo, who faces a raft of charges ranging from fraud, criminal abuse of office and corruption, was released on US$5,000 bail by High Court judge Justice Edith Mushore.

Chombo was also ordered to surrender his passport, report at Borrowdale Police Station three times a day, not to interfere with State witnesses, not to visit the local government ministry offices as well as the Reserve Bank.

The former minister was arrested on November 15, when the military took charge of the country in an operation code-named “Operation Restore Legacy”, where it said it was targeting criminals surrounding former president Robert Mugabe.

Chipanga was also arrested in the same manner that night.

Their lawyer Lovemore Madhuku argued the manner in which his clients were arrested and their right to be brought before a court within 48 hours of arrest was violated. He said they appeared in court on November 25.

Madhuku told the court that his clients were “proper bail candidates”, who had simply suffered “mob rule”.

ANA

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