Tendai Kamhungira • 29 July 2016 12:26PM • 4 comments
HARARE - At least 19 Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) investigators were suspended yesterday on a raft of allegations ranging from corruption to abuse of office.
Most of the disgruntled investigators, who were served with suspension letters yesterday, told the Daily News that they were being punished for demanding their benefits through a court application.
But in the letter, signed by Zacc chairperson Job Whabira, the 19 were accused of being involved in sleazy dealings.
“Fraud, corruption, insubordination, failure to obey lawful instructions, absence from duty without official authority, divulging commission information to outsiders in breach of the Official Secrets Act as well as giving false information to outsiders about the commission,” said Whabira.
The 19 are part of 26 others who dragged the Commission to court demanding their benefits, which amount to over $1,5 million.
“Those that withdrew from the application were not served with the letters,” one of the suspended employees, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
“...be advised that Zacc at its meeting held on July 27, 2016, acting in terms of Section 14 (1) of the Anti-Corruption Act (Chapter 9:22) as read with Statutory Instrument 15 of 2006 resolved that you…be suspended from the duty with salary pending investigations for a period of three months with effect from July 28, 2016,” read part of the letter.
The letter further states: “...also advised that the reason for the suspension is to allow the Commission to investigate allegations of fraud, corruption, insurbodination, failure to obey lawful instructions, absence from duty without official authority, divulging Commission information to outsiders in breach of the Official Secrecy Act as well as giving false information to outsiders about the Commission.”
The letter also said that the allegations had resulted in the relationship between the parties untenable.
According to the letter, the investigators are not supposed to leave the country without permission of the Commission, and are required to inform the Commission each time they changed their residential addresses.
The investigators are also barred from attending their place of work, carry out any duties or interfere with investigations and handover the Commission’s assets to the organisation’s administration department by end of yesterday.
The letters were given to the investigators after a memo was issued asking them to state in writing their position pertaining to the court case in which they are demanding their benefits.