Local businessmen Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu have reportedly been thrown under the bus by their business partner, Wicknell Chivayo, in a bid to save himself and shield high-profile government officials allegedly involved in the US$100 million Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) deal.
The NewsHawks cited a government source as saying that while Chimombe and Mpofu may have cases to answer in their US$7.7 million Presidential Goats Scheme fraud and the US$9.2 million Harare City Council street lights tender scam, their real mistake was publicly confronting Chivayo over the US$100 million deal which ultimately exposed corruption among senior officials. Said the official:
Chimombe and Mpofu may have cases to answer, granted, but their case is more about politics or the politics of money involving senior government officials than corruption.
Those corruption cases that they are now facing were known for some time, but they were only raised and weaponised against them after the ZEC scandal.
All along it was known they had been involved in those tenders as the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission was already investigating, but authorities only pulled the trigger after the ZEC scandal was exposed.
If they had not fought Chivayo, those cases were not going to see the light of the day. That’s where the real issue is.
They are being punished for their role in exposing Chivayo and inadvertently senior government officials in this massive corruption scandal.
The NewsHawks report further alleges that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) scandal has implicated several high-profile figures, including President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who has close ties to Wicknell Chivayo, Secretary to the President and Cabinet Martin Rushwaya, ZEC chairperson Priscilla Chigumba, Central Intelligence Organisation Director-General Isaac Moyo, the President’s daughter Chido, and other officials accused of misappropriating public funds during the elections.
Chimombe and Mpofu reportedly clashed with Chivayo over payments, which ultimately led to the exposure of these officials.
Although the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) is investigating the ZEC scandal, Chimombe and Mpofu have not been arrested in connection with it.
Instead, they were detained for their involvement in the US$7.7 million Presidential Goats Scheme and the US$9.2 million street lights tender.
Chivayo and senior officials are reportedly orchestrating efforts behind the scenes to ensure Chimombe and Mpofu bear the consequences for revealing corruption.
The two businessmen were reportedly enticed to return to Zimbabwe from a business trip in China, having been promised protection.
However, their return—which contradicted their lawyers’ advice—led to their arrest and detention. Friends and associates had cautioned them that returning home could result in their sacrifice.
The NewsHawks cited sources as saying the pair has been repeatedly denied bail not based on legal merits, but as a form of punishment for not having good table manners while “eating” with VIPs at the high table.
On Wednesday, the High Court dismissed their bail appeal for the second time regarding the goats scam case. Their application in the street lights case has also been denied.
Chimombe and Mpofu are scheduled to return to court on September 12 for a routine remand in the street lights case, while their trial for the goats case is set to begin on October 1.
More: Pindula News