The Minister of State for Masvingo Province Ezra Chadzamira has been arrested for alleged corruption involving sugarcane plots at Kilimanjaro.
A senior police officer in Masvingo confirmed Minister Chadzamira’s arrest but declined to provide more details.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) also confirmed the arrest saying he is under investigation for alleged corrupt activities involving the allocation of land in Chiredzi.
In a statement Zacc said:
The matter is still under investigation, which are nearing completion especially after receiving further instructions from the National Prosecution Authority.
Zacc also stated that a warned and cautioned statement was recorded.
Early this year, there were reports of corruption in the allocation of land in Chiredzi.
The allocations were spearheaded by Ezra Chadzamira and acting provincial lands officer Tendai Mumera.
In May, the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Resettlement transferred Chiredzi lands officer Honest Mapfumo to Harare in a move viewed as victimisation for his role in exposing the alleged corruption.
Mapfumo is a key witness in a case in which the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) is investigating corrupt allocation of land including sugarcane plots in Chiredzi.
In April, Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga ordered the scrapping of a land allocation schedule which would have benefitted over 40 people who were set to get sugarcane plots under the Kilimanjaro sugarcane project.
He cited corruption and the sidelining of locals in the selection process.
Some observers argued that Chadzamira was a strong ally of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and was, therefore, going to be released.
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