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Midlands Correspondent
The Ministry of Home Affairs is beefing up the country’s forensic department to enable Government to deal with cyber and other white-collar crimes, an official has said. In an interview on the sidelines of a handover ceremony of two classroom blocks at Chiwundura Primary School in Gweru, Home Affairs Permanent Secretary, Mr Melusi Matshiya, said the ministry was upgrading its forensic department to be able to tackle serious and well organised cyber crimes.

“When we look at cyber crime, it is a crime that is sophisticated and done using media, particularly electronic and social media. Therefore, when you deal with such crimes we need to have appropriate tools and the forensics which are the art and science involved in the cyber space.

“We need to capacitate our forensic departments so that they carry out sophisticated investigations in cases of cyber crimes, as well as murder, arson and other white crimes.
“We need to retool that department to enable it to upgrade and move a step higher,” he said.

Mr Matshiya said there was need for the ministry, particularly the police, to embrace and employ more sophisticated means of dealing with crime.
“We are capacitating the police in terms of mobility. There is also need to assimilate contemporary knowledge and sophisticated ways that are in tandem with international trends. Through that and continuous improvement, we have been sending officials outside the country to be taught computer technology,” he said.

Mr Matshiya said more professionals were being trained in that respect.
He said the ministry was tracking down corrupt Government officials implicated in dubious and opaque business transactions.
Mr Matshiya said the ministry would descend on corrupt officials once substantial evidence was provided.

“We need forensic lawyers, detectives and economists, people who can deal with disaggregated information, synthesise it and come up with something holistic and objective to enable us to pin down corrupt individuals.

“One needs to appreciate that it involves forensic investigations. Some allegations start as rumours which have to be sustained and once it becomes a prima facie case with substantial evidence, then the police take over as the institution with arresting powers and those accused of corruption would be put to task,” he said.

Mr Matshiya said it was fair for the ministry and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission to make follow ups on allegations of corruption levelled against Government officials.
“We are looking at cases where someone who is educated uses his intelligence to hoodwink others. When people talk, they say there is no smoke without fire thus we need to lead those individuals to where the smoke is coming from and come up with cogent information, then the police and anti-corruption will move in. We need to strengthen the Zimbabwe Anti-corruption Commission in terms of resources and training,” he said.