Zimbabwe ex-veep declared fugitive over corruption

A former Zimbabwean vice-president has been declared a fugitive by authorities in the country over issues of corruption.

The state-run Herald newspaper said Phelekezela Mphoko had escaped from Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) officials who were set to arrest him on Monday, August 19.

The report said the Mugabe-era veep was being pursued for abuse of office charges which he allegedly committed during his tenure in office.

ZACC commissioner John Makarume has also confirmed that Mphoko had been classed a fugitive from law and anti-corruption officials were after him. The exact issue is yet to be established.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa took over who campaigned on a new dispensation in contested 2018 elections has vowed to probe all corrupt officials in the past.

Tourism Minister Prisca Mupfumira was charged in late July charged with corruption involving $95 million from the state pension fund after questioning by the newly formed Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).

Mupfumira is the first senior government official to be interrogated by the commission, which was appointed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week after he promised tough action against graft.

The prosecution laid out charges ranging from alleged abuse of state pension fund money to finance Mupfumira’s political campaigning to directing investments of up to $62 million into a bank against the advice of the pension fund’s risk committee.