BY ITAI DZAMARA
HARARE
Retired army general, Solomon Mujuru, is believed to be under house arrest after the CIO handed over a dossier to the fraud squad accusing him of numerous cases of corruption in his vast business empire.
Impeccable sources from Mujuru’s family as well as in the army and police told The Zimbabwean that the influential former army leader has been under virtual house arrest since late last year when media speculation grew linking Mujuru to rumours that former finance minister Simba Makoni was planning to from a new party.
Makoni has since announced that he will stand against Mugabe in next month’s presidential election, and has been officials expelled from Zanu (PF).
Zanu (PF) insiders say Mugabe instructed the CIO to place Makoni, Mujuru as well as other top officials linked to the plans under strict surveillance.
“He has been under house arrest since November and has been called in by police and army on several occasions,” a source close to the Mujuru family said. “He is under 24-hour surveillance by the military intelligence.”
Sources at the Fraud Squad in Harare confirmed that Mujuru had been called in for questioning on several occasions in relation to the dossier.
“He has been threatened with arrest and humiliation and that must have been meant to intimidate him,” said a senior police officer on condition anonymity. “The corruption charges are enough to bring him down, whether they are true or not. It is clearly a political game.”
Repeated efforts to obtain comment from Mujuru or his wife failed but one of their daughters said, “They have been harassing my father and we actually fear for his life. He has been stripped of his liberties.”
Mujuru has long been a thorn in the flesh for Mugabe, with incessant reports suggesting he is the Kingmaker in Zanu (PF) and probably the only one capable of facing up to Mugabe’s dictatorial tendencies. However, Mujuru was made to appear comical in December when he appeared on national television and in newspapers holding the microphone for Rural Housing minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, leader of another faction in the party.
“He was already under house arrest then and attended the congress under duress with Mugabe making sure it came out openly the retired army general was still under his armpits,” a senior Zanu (PF) official said.
Post published in: News