New co-Home Affairs Minister Theresa Makone State media reported that Makone and Mutasa visited Mbare, Matapi and Stodart police stations in Harare last week to demand the release of Mutasas son Martin. The 47 year old was arrested alongside notorious ZANU PF activist Themba Mliswa and George Marere after trying to seize shareholding worth US$1 million from a company owned by white businessman Paul Westwood.
But in an exclusive in depth interview with our Behind the Headlines series Makone said Mutasa approached her seeking help to locate his son who had been arrested the day before. Mutasa did not come to ask for assistance to have his son removed from police detention. He came to ask for assistance to locate his son. So it was in that spirit that as co-Home Affairs Minister I actually went about locating the son of the Minister, Makone said.
In MDC we have had so many people go missing, some after police arrests and others after abductions and there is no way that I as Minister of Home Affairs will sit and do nothing when a member of the public, be it ZANU PF, MDC, Ndonga, Dawn Kusile, I dont care which one. If they come and are worried about the location of their relatives who have been taken by police of which I am Minister, I will make it my business to find that person, Makone added. Makone said when they finally located Martin Mutasa that was the end of her mission.
What happened after whether (Didymus) Mutasa held any conversation with them (police), I cannot be answerable to that but I will do my job for any Zimbabwean. No one in the police force can say I asked them to release Martin Mutasa, she said. Makone meanwhile refused to comment on the alleged involvement of police commissioner Augustine Chihuri, who is reported to have an interest in the company whose shares were allegedly fraudulently acquired by Martin and his colleagues. She said her interest in the matter ended with the location of Mutasas son. She also denied receiving a letter from Mliswa who said he wrote a letter to the Home Affairs Ministry complaining about the harassment from Chihuri.
If I receive the letter, I will respond to it, she said. So is Makone not worried about the perception of MDC members to her involvement in helping Minister Mutasa? Well I really dont blame them. I would have thought the same too. But when you have the responsibility of the nation you cease to be an MDC Minister. I can understand them wanting me to sit back and enjoy when a ZANU PF person has lost their son in the system. But if that is the way we are going to run the country, then God help us, she responded.
Makone also denied widespread media coverage that she was a close friend of Jocelyn Chiwenga the wife of army commander General Constantine Chiwenga. If someone comes to my salon is that the definition of a friend? I run a very busy and professional joint which is used by all women who want to look nice, Makone said. NB: The full interview between Lance Guma and new co-Home Affairs Minister Theresa Makone will be broadcast this Thursday on Behind the Headlines.
Post published in: News