Former Mines and Mining Development Minister Walter Chidhakwa is being investigated by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) over diamonds that allegedly disappeared from Government vaults during the time he was minister in 2015.
Ignatius Chombo and Walter Mzembi are also likely to be questioned on fresh charges of abuse of office and corruption. ZACC spokesperson, Ms Phyllis Chikundura, could neither confirm nor deny the development, saying she could only check the facts on Monday. However a ZACC investigator who spoke to the publication on condition of anonymity said:
(Mr) Chidhakwa should answer pertinent questions about diamonds which were stolen from the vaults. People are making noise about the so-called missing US$15 billion, but we have unearthed that some diamonds were stolen when mining operations were consolidated.
The Sunday Mail could not ascertain the value of the stolen diamonds as investigators are still busy compiling the data. The investigation comes after Chidhakwa was arrested weeks ago for dissolving the Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) board in December 2013 and appointing former permanent secretary in his ministry, Professor Francis Gudyanga, to act as the sole MMCZ board member until 2016.
More: Sunday Mail
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