In a plot twist that sounds more like a Zimbabwean soap opera than city management, Local Government Minister Daniel Garwe has called out Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume for allegedly “suing himself” to get his hands on city land.
While appearing at a press conference that left everyone’s jaws on the floor, Minister Garwe didn’t hold back, detailing how the Mayor and his team turned the High Court into a personal “looting tool” through a bizarre legal strategy.
Forget traditional corruption; the Minister says Harare officials have leveled up. According to Garwe, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor Rosemary Muronda allegedly:
-
Sued the City Council (essentially suing their own office).
-
Consented to the Order immediately (agreeing with themselves in court).
-
Claimed “The Court Made Me Do It” to grab land while pretending they were just being law-abiding citizens.
“They reported the council, not knowing it would come back to haunt them,” Garwe laughed off the irony. He slammed the Mayor’s camp as the “true land barons” of the city, claiming they’ve been using these High Court orders as a legal shield for organized looting.
Minister Garwe clarified that he’s got enough land of his own and isn’t interested in “duping the state,” throwing the ball squarely back into Mafume’s court. He revealed that he had warned the Mayor in private meetings that the game was up, making the recent arrests of Mafume, Muronda, and Shadreck Mashayamombe “inevitable.”
Even though the complainant in the latest fraud case, Mavis Java, tried to pull the plug by withdrawing charges, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) says they aren’t going anywhere. The state is still coming for the Mayor’s circle and the four companies allegedly used in the land-swap deals.
With the “self-suing” secret out in the open, the “Consent Orders” that were used to move land around are now under serious scrutiny. As the Minister puts it, the Mayor’s team might have been the powerbrokers yesterday, but today, they are the ones under the microscope.
