Harare - The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption
Commission (ZACC) on Monday detained and charged a cabinet
minister and long-time ally of President Emmerson Mnangagwa for
abuse of office alleged to have cost the government $3.7
million, the second high-profile graft case this year.
Joram Gumbo, a minister in the presidency, was arrested on
suspicion of directing a government-owned airline formed in 2017
to use a property owned by his relative as its headquarters,
according to a charge sheet seen by Reuters.
Gumbo, who was transport minister at the time, is also
accused of abusing his position by forcing the re-appointment of
the head of a state-owned company after the official was found
guilty of corruption and fired by a tribunal. ZACC said the
government had suffered total losses to the tune of $3.7
million.
Gumbo was not available to comment.
His arrest comes as critics accuse the president of lacking
the drive to carry out the political reforms needed to help
Zimbabwe recover from its worst economic crisis in a decade.
Video: Kim Kay/African News Agency
The ZACC, which Mnangagwa appointed in July, says it is on a
drive to bring corrupt officials to account. In July, tourism
minister Prisca Mupfumira was charged with corruptly misusing
$95 million from the state pension fund.
When Mnangagwa took over as leader after the late Robert
Mugabe was ousted in 2017, he promised to stamp out the graft
that had become endemic under his predecessor.
Although some Mugabe-era ministers have been arrested for
corruption, they are free on bail while their cases are stuck in
courts, frustrating citizens who feel that officials can use
their influence to escape punishment.
Gumbo is due to appear in court on Tuesday, a ZACC official
said.