Bright Matonga Acquitted Of Alleged US$500,000 Farming Equipment Theft
Chegutu Magistrate Evelyn Mashawakure has acquitted former Information Minister Bright Matonga, who was arrested on June 25, 2024, for allegedly stealing farming implements worth approximately US$500,000.
Mashawakure ruled that the matter was a civil dispute arising from a breach of a joint venture agreement and said that there was no evidence to support the claim that Matonga committed the alleged offence.
Matonga was accused of stealing farming equipment from his business partner, Van Breda.
The former Deputy Information Minister has a history of controversy. In 2016, he was blamed for the decline of Chigwell Estate in Chegutu, which had previously supported the livelihoods of about 500 people and contributed $4 million annually to Zimbabwe’s revenue through exports.
In July 2020, Matonga was listed as a beneficiary in the controversial Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Farm Mechanisation Scheme, part of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme.
He was included under the “Politicians” group and received goods worth US$359,420.00, according to the list published on July 18, 2020.
The beneficiaries of the programme never repaid the money, and instead, the debt was shifted onto taxpayers.
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