Why the fight against corruption in Zimbabwe is matter of life and death
Why the fight against corruption in Zimbabwe is matter of life and death
By Rawlings Magede –Heal Zimbabwe
On 20 July, 2020, Zimbabwean police raided the home of investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and arrested him. Before his arrest, Chin’ono taped a video showing footage of members of the security services harassing him and directing him to stop recording.
Chin’ono has an exemplary record of using non-violent means to mobilize citizens to register their concerns to the government. His activism on social media reaches far beyond his immediate environs and his reporting and commentaries are followed widely among members of Zimbabwe’s diaspora, who for many years have been sidelined or have taken a back seat when it comes to events back home. His arrest in itself is a significant comment about the impact of the kind of activism now trending with more and more social media users taking government officials to task.
One instance of alleged corruption that Chin’ono exposed involves Drax International and the son of President Mnangagwa, Collins. Drax International was awarded a controversial US$60 million contract to supply equipment to combat the spread of COVID 19.The Drax scandal also saw the temporary arrest of then Health Minister, Obadiah Moyo, who was later relieved of his duties.
In another campaign dubbed #UnfollowEd, encouraged by Chin’ono, more than 12,000 people unfollowed President Mnangagwa on Twitter. This put Hopewell in the spotlight as members of the ZANU PF political party claimed his fight against corruption was foreign sponsored. In a televised press conference, ZANU PF politburo member Patrick Chinamasa called Chin’ono an unscrupulous character and warned that systematic targeted attacks on the integrity of the nation’s first family should stop. The subsequent arrest of Chin’ono comes as no surprise. The regime has been on the offensive in its attempts to silence critics of its and cover up on its evil activities especially in relation to awarding of government tenders. Former Tourism and Hospitality Minister, Prisca Mupfumira who in July 2019 was temporarily arrested, stands accused over an alleged US$95 million corruption scandal emanating from a National Social Security Authority (NSSA) forensic audit which details a series of corrupt activities.Mupfumira has since been released on bail. The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC),a commission established under Section 254 of the Zimbabwean constitution to investigate and expose cases of corruption in the public and private sector appears incapabable of pursuing corruption cases especially if they involve political elites. Another high profile corruption case is that of former Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development, Ignatious Chombo who also stands accused of corruptly parceling out land during his time in government. Besides overwhelming evidence, he remains a free man. Despite all this public information on corruption cases, ZACC continues to sleep on duty.
Zimbabwe’s legal framework on corruption
Domestically, the country has codified and enacted a significant portion of its principal anti-corruption legislation – e.g. the Criminal Law (Codification and reform) Act and the Anti-Corruption Act. This was followed by the signing and then ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in 2004 and 2007 respectively. UNCAC is a legally binding anti-corruption agreement applicable on a global basis. Under the convention, states commit to implement a wide range of anti-corruption measures that apply to their laws, institutions and practices. These measures are designed to promote prevention, enhance criminalization and law enforcement, while strengthening international cooperation to ensure asset recovery, provide technical assistance and generate information exchange.
Zimbabwe has yet to fully implement the UNCAC’s provisions. The Anti-corruption Act and its UNCAC-related obligations is a case in point. Enforcement of the provisions of this legislation remains a challenge even today. Another example of government failure to uphold and implement its obligations relates to the comprehensive Bill of Rights under Chapter 4 of the Constitution. This sets out the legally binding constitutional rights and freedoms that the people of Zimbabwe are entitled to. The list of rights is comprehensive and includes the right to human dignity, personal security, freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, freedom of expression, freedom to petition and demonstrate. Yet, despite this, the state continues to criminalise and arrest citizens who dare exercise such rights. The incidents involving Hopewell Chin’ono and Transparency Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume are but two of the latest incidents showing official disregard for these human rights. At the time of writing, the two are in police custody awaiting trial. According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR),Chin’ono has been charged with incitement to participate in a gathering with intent to promote public violence as defined in Section 187 (1) as read with section 36 (1) (b) of the Criminal law (Codification and Reform) Act. Ngarivhume arrest also comes at a time when he was busy mobilizing citizens for a 31 July 2020 demonstration against corruption.
In the final analysis, the arrest of Ngarivhume and Chin’ono expose the governments’ lack of political will to decisively deal with corruption. There is consensus among the general public that it is corruption and not sanctions that amounts to the Achilles heel in government efforts to turn the economy around.
In sum, despite the signing and ratification of the UNCAC in 2004 and 2007, plus domestic pieces of legislation such as the Anti-Corruption Act, the government has demonstrated a clear lack of political will to implement fully the provisions enacted in its own laws. The fight against corruption is everyone’s fight and knows no political affiliation.
