Zimpapers Logo

into the saga surrounding an NGO aligned to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s parallel structures after its commissioner Emmanuel Chimwanda appeared in court charged with five counts of contravening the Official Secrets Act and criminal abuse of office.Chimwanda, who appeared in court last week, is accused of supplying dockets and information to four MDC-T officials — Thabani Mpofu, Warship Dumba, Felix Matsinde and Mehluli Tshuma — who have since appeared in court facing charges of impersonating the police, possessing articles for criminal use and breaching the Official Secrets Act.

The quartet work for an NGO called Institute for a Democratic Alternative for Zimbabwe.
Chimwanda was granted $500 bail by magistrate Mr Donald Ndirowei coupled with some stringent conditions.
As part of his bail conditions, Chimwanda was ordered to surrender his passport, report once a week to CID Law and Order Section and reside at his given address.

He was also barred from visiting ZACC offices and ordered not to interfere with witnesses until the matter is finalised.
Prosecutor Miss Junior Mugebe alleges that some time in April last year, the commission was investigating a fraud case involving former Harare special interest councillor Charles Nyachowe.

Also see . . .

• US$5,5m sparks row at Anti-graft Commission

• Anti-corruption commissioners mull mass resignations

• (EDITORIAL COMMENT) ZACC: Who will watch the watchers?

• ZACC CEO in court over US$435 000 fraud

• ZACC workers to get US$1,5m in arrears

It is alleged Chimwanda requested the docket from the commission’s chief investigations officer, Alex Masiye.
Masiye then advised the general manager for investigations, Sukai Tongogara, and the two handed over the docket to Chimwanda.
Chimwanda, the court heard, indicated that he wanted to go through the docket citing that he was not happy with the way the investigations were being conducted.

It is alleged he made copies of the docket and handed them to Mpofu, Dumba, Matsinde and Tshuma.
It is further alleged that Chimwanda accessed documents pertaining to criminal investigations on allegations of abuse of office by Local Government, Rural and Urban Development Minister Ignatius Chombo.
Chimwanda is said to have taken the documents to the four MDC-T officials who then crafted charge sheets and State outlines on allegations of abuse of office against Minister Chombo.

It is the State’s case that Chimwanda later took the charge sheets and outlines to the commission and instructed Tongogara to include them in Minister Chombo’s docket.
The court heard that Chimwanda unlawfully retrieved the commission’s request for remand (Form 242) pertaining to Jemina Gumbo and handed it over to the four MDC-T officials.

It is alleged that Chimwanda also connived with the four officials and compiled a summary of offences against Attorney-General Mr Johannes Tomana.
He then took the compiled charge sheets of alleged criminal abuse of duty as a public officer against Mr Tomana to the commission’s offices where he instructed Tongogara to initiate criminal investigations.

According to the State, Chimwanda unlawfully abused his office as a commissioner in ZACC by taking the above-mentioned documents to Mpofu, Dumba, Matsinde and Tshuma.