Trevor Ncube tried to bribe me, says Moyo

Ncube not as clean as he claims? … Minister Jonathan Moyo

The thread went on for the whole day Sunday.

Moyo has more than 68 000 followers while Trevor has over 53 000.

Ncube is the owner of Alpha Media Holdings (AHM) which publishes Newsday, The Zimbabwe Independent, The Standard and South Africa’s Mail and Guardian.

Moyo is Higher and Tertiary Education Minister and a Zanu PF MP.

Several appeals to the two to behave like grown up men fell on deaf ears as the war or words raged on.

Moyo set the ball rolling, accusing Ncube of tweeting various and unprovoked scurrilous claims about him for six conservative weeks with the latest being posted Saturday.

The MP then claimed that he had proof that Ncube tried to bribe him in 2013 when he was still the information minister so that he could be awarded a radio licence.

He accused the media mogul of pretending that he was squeaky clean yet he was corrupt and bitter that his bid to corruptly gain a radio licence had failed.

“Trevor Ncube has gone full circle from wishing to be a Media Baron to becoming a Media Barbarian,” tweeted Prof Moyo.

He went on, “It’s barbaric to say a person must prove they are not what YOU allege they are. He who alleges MUST PROVE! Only a BARBARIAN will allege you’re sleeping with your neighbour’s wife & challenge you to prove you are not!

“YOU know I’m not corrupt. In 2013/14 YOU tried IN VAIN to CORRUPT me to get YOU a radio licence! You CORRUPTLY pleaded for a licence outside laid down procedures & sent a nice tweet thereafter.”

Moyo further alleged that Ncube sent two people to him with corrupt messages during the time when radio licence was in adjudication. The minister said he still had the messages Ncube sent to him, adding that the publisher tried in vain to meet him in Johannesburg, South Africa.

According to Moyo, Ncube promised to ‘prop up’ his political career if he got the licence.

But Ncube hit back, saying Moyo’s claims were just hogwash as such ‘dossier’ did not exist but all in the minister’s creative mind.

“We must not be intimidated by public officials who turn nasty when put under scrutiny,” tweeted Ncube.

“We all have a duty to hold public officials to account. That is all I am doing. You are such a discredited politician and propagandist @ProfJNMoyo; only you believe these bizarre claims.”

Ncube further accused Moyo of having a short memory because he forgets that he at one point tried to gag The Zimbabwe Independent and lost the case with costs on the Ford Foundation issue. Reports said Moyo was under investigation for allegedly embezzling funds when he was working for Ford Foundation.

Moyo then hit back, accusing Ncube of corruptly squandering AMH’s income through a lavish lifestyle in Johannesburg at the expense of his workers. He challenged Ncube to come out in the open and declare where he got the money to buy The Zimbabwe Independent newspaper.

“Now you are too desperate. Try something else Jonathan @ProfJNMoyo,” Ncube replied.