The scandal involves controversial businessman Philip Chiyangwa and Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo.
People were selling properties to each other for amounts that are as good as they were getting the properties for free. We already have a case in Harare where Chombo paid only $2 200 for a property that is worthy more than $2 million. We have similar cases in a number of cases from across the country, we are still verifying them through our structures, said a senior council official.
Since the Harare land dispute came into the public domain, a number of local authorities have also come up with reports of related looting and misappropriation of council property by Zanu (PF) supporters.
In Marondera, the council led by Farai Nyandoro, has unearthed a scam where Chombo connived with former mayor Ralph Chimanikire to allocate council property to Zanu (PF) supporters. In most cases, according to Nyandoro, the officials paid ridiculous amounts for the properties.
They went on to recruit some 130 Zanu (PF) supporters into council employment. This emerged during a human resources audit recently carried out by the council.
In confirming the development, Nyandoro said they had since gone to the courts to stop Chombo from issuing directives which were mostly against the Urban Councils Act.
In some cases, he used clauses that have since been scrapped from the Urban Councils Act. He has tried to plant confusion in council by mobilising Zanu (PF) supporters, but this has not worked because we have managed to counter their manoeuvres, said Nyandoro.
In the Mashonaland Central provincial capital of Bindura, senior Zanu (PF) officials had also sold each other council properties for paltry amounts. Mashonaland Central governor and former Bindura mayor Martin Dinha bought a house for less than US$48.
Dinha and other Zanu (PF) councillors were involved in massive looting and illegal auctioning of council property in 2008, said Bindura mayor, Daniso Wakatama.
Meanwhile Zimbabwean police on Friday summoned four journalists from The Standard to appear before the Harare Magistrate Courts to testify as State witnesses in the trial of Harare Mayor Muchadeyi Masunda and eight councilors who are being charged of criminally defaming business tycoon, Chiyangwa.
Police subpoenaed Editor-in-Chief Vincent Kahiya, The Standard editor Nevanji Madanhire together with the co-authors Jeniffer Dube and Feluna Nleya of the story that exposed the land scandal that had been exposed by the Harare City Councils special committee on land.
The journalists quoted a special land investigations report on Chiyangwas properties around Harare.
The trial of Masunda and the eight councilors has been set down for May 6. They were all remanded out of custody after being granted a US$20 bail when they appeared before Harare Magistrate Olivia Mariga last week
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