The deputy minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Obert Gutu, said the axe was hovering over the heads of some senior officials suspected to have been abusing public office to deprive the ZPS of huge sums of money. Allegations include ferrying prisoners to work at their homes and farms and widespread sexual abuse of female prisoners.
In November Gutu told The Zimbabwean that his office was inundated with cases of corruption and prisoner abuse by ZPS officials. Once the names of the culprits are released, his Ministry would let justice take its course, said the minister, who is also the Chairperson of the Anti-Corruption Committee in the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs.
“I should be getting a detailed report on the issue at the Heads of Departments meeting in early February. A team has been working on the ground and for strategic reasons, I cannot rush to divulge the information. But I can tell you that we have been up to something and we mean serious business,” he said.
A highly placed source within the ZPS told this newspaper late last year that attempts to thwart or expose corruption by senior officials had hit a snag as the culprits were enjoying the protection of influential and powerful politicians. Gutu promised that there would be no “sacred cows”. Officially opening the 2013 Legal year in Harare this month, Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku bemoaned corruption in the justice delivery system, adding that the ZPS was no exception.
Post published in: News