"We Arrest Even Wives Of Politicians, We Don't Look At Gender Or Status," - ZACC
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission has said that it is applying the law impartially without fear or favour.
This was revealed by ZACC deputy chairperson, Kuziva Murapa during an interview with Daily News reporter Sindiso Mhlophe on Sunday.
Below are excerpts of the interview.
Q: Another perception that has emerged is that Zacc is being used to fight political battles, what is your response to this?
A: The commission does not discriminate according to gender, political affiliation and one’s status in society. Our mandate is very clear, we are independent and we are executing our mandate in line with the dictates of the Constitution.If a politician is a thief or if a wife of a politician is a thief for us we do not look at gender or status. If there is sufficient evidence, we don’t then look at their gender, political affiliation or marital status, all we see is an allegation of corruption and that is what we go after.
We don’t go after people’s wives neither do we go after people because they belong to certain political parties, we go after criminals.
If you are a person’s wife and you think you are of such high standing then don’t engage in criminal activities. That way your path won’t cross with that of Zacc.
Let me also clarify another perception which is that Zacc is into catch-and-release. In the value chain, we only have the power to investigate and arrest.
At this point we hand over to the prosecutors who then prosecute and determine if there is sufficient evidence to send someone to jail or release them.
In our value chain we have been able to investigate and arrest effectively, but from there on we lose control and we are not able to influence or determine the outcome of the case.
We are also angry about this release because we sweat ourselves out and put our lives at risk to arrest those people and then they are released. This means that our hard work is for nothing and this is quite discouraging.
These remarks are made when some believe that Vice President Chiwenga is using ZACC to force his estranged wife, Marry Chiwenga nee Mubaiwa out of marriage.
More: Daily News
