Ex-finance minister faces graft charges

FORMER Zimbabwe finance minister Ignatius Chombo, among those detained by the military before Robert Mugabe resigned as president, was charged on Saturday with corruption, including trying to defraud the central bank in 2004.

The court appearance was the first time Chombo had been seen in public since being detained after the military seized power in “Operation Restore Legacy”, which it said was meant to remove the “criminals” around Mugabe.

Chombo, a Mugabe ally who had been promoted to finance minister in October, told the court that he had been kept blindfolded for nine days after being arrested on November 15.

His lawyer has said he had been beaten in detention, although Chombo made no mention of that and had no injuries visible as he stood before magistrates in Harare.

Several members of a group allied to Mugabe and his wife Grace were detained and expelled from the ruling party, including Chombo, the ousted head of the influential Zanu-PF youth league Kudzanai Chipanga and a deposed leader in the party’s youth wing, Innocent Hamandishe.

Some supporters of the new president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, have been calling for unspecified action against the so-called G40 group which backed Mugabe and his wife. Chombo, Chipanga and Hamandishe were allied to the G40.

The state prosecutor said Chombo had been charged with three counts of corruption, including attempting to defraud the Zimbabwean central bank in 2004, when government minister.

He was not asked to enter a plea by the state. Chombo showed no emotion while the charges were read. The court ordered Chombo detained until today when his bail application will be heard.

Describing his arrest, when his wife had also been present, Chombo told the court: “While we stood in the room, there rushed in between five and six people wearing masks and all of them had guns. The guns were pointing at us.”

He said he suffered lacerations on his left side when he fell as the soldiers led him out of his house.

Chombo’s lawyer, Lovemore Madhuku, said on Friday Chombo had been admitted to hospital with injuries sustained from beatings he received in military custody. he was local

Chombo had no visible injuries and appeared calm, chatting with the police guarding him when the court took a break.

Chombo was handed over to the police by the military. The police said they had no information on Chombo’s injuries when asked to comment.

A former university lecturer and Mugabe’s ally, Chombo was promoted in an October cabinet reshuffle from the interior ministry to the finance portfolio, against the backdrop of a severe shortage of the US dollar used by Zimbabwe.

In his main act as new finance minister, Chombo told parliament on November 9 that Zimbabwe’s budget deficit would soar to $1.82-billion (R25.7-billion) or 11.2% of gross domestic product this year from an initial target of $400-million (R5.6trillion). — Reuters