Former Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Walter Mzembi has been acquitted by the High Court of criminal abuse of office charges linked to the donation of four public viewing screens to churches.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, 13 May 2026, Justice Benjamin Chikowero ruled that the State had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mzembi committed the offence.
The court heard that accountability for Government assets rests with the permanent secretary, not the minister. Justice Chikowero said the prosecution had not established that Mzembi had direct responsibility over the assets in question.
Mzembi had been accused of unlawfully donating the public viewing screens during his time as Tourism Minister. However, the court found the evidence presented by the State was insufficient to secure a conviction.
Mzembi was arrested in June 2025 after returning from South Africa, ending years in self-imposed exile. He was charged with criminal abuse of office and fraud over the alleged unlawful donation of television sets that had been procured for the 2010 FIFA World Cup fan parks. Prosecutors claimed the donations cost the State around US$2 million.
The lower courts rejected multiple bail applications, with the State arguing that Mzembi was a flight risk because of his previous stay in South Africa. He spent nearly a year in remand prison.
His trial ended in April 2026. The State alleged that he had donated government-owned public viewing screens to churches, including PHD Ministries, UFIC and ZCC, without Treasury approval. The defence countered that the initiative was part of a broader government tourism strategy.
On 5 May 2026, Justice Chikowero granted Mzembi US$1,000 bail pending judgment. He was ordered to deposit the bail amount, surrender his passport, live at his Harare home in Wilmington Park, and remain within 30km of the High Court until judgment was handed down on 13 May.
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