HARARE - Police are still refusing to investigate allegations of corruption levelled against local government Minister Ignatius Chombo and businessman Philip Chiyangwa, in a major scandal that saw them illegally acquire council land.
A report compiled by a committee of Harare City councillors exposed how the two, with help from two council employees, illegally grabbed vast tracts of prime land from the city on the cheap, without following proper procedures. Despite Harare’s acting Mayor Charity Bango reporting the matter to police last week Monday, police are still to record a statement seven days later. Bango said the police were dragging their feet and kept referring her from one officer to another.
The delay is in stark contrast to the swift mass arrest of councillors who compiled the report after Chiyangwa lodged a complaint of ‘criminal defamation’ after several newspapers picked up on the scandal. Journalists Stanley Gama, Jennifer Dube, Feluna Nleya and Vincent Kahiya were also detained on Chiyangwa’s orders.
Warship Dumba, the councillor who chaired the investigation, said, ‘These allegations are not coming from our heads. They have to do with things contained in council files. The issues which are criminal have been referred to the police while others will be dealt with in-house.’ He confirmed that all the councillors arrested last week will be reporting to the police station or court on Tuesday to answer the charges from Chiyangwa.
Post published in: News