Grace Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s former First Lady is reported as likely to face arrest, if the results of the investigations carried on upon her, turn positive.
The former First Lady is being investigated upon, following allegations of corruption, gold smuggling among others, all done under the period of time when she was the leader of the ZANU-PF Women’s League, sources show.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), is doing the investigations against the former First Lady and they also stated that if they find her guilty, she is likely expected to face the law.
Goodson Nguni, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) commissioner responsible for investigations, stated on Saturday 6 January, that the anti-graft body was already probing Grace over the suspicious awarding of a doctorate by the University of Zimbabwe after enrolling at the institution for barely three months.
He informed that according to the current findings, indications were that certain officials at the institution from where Grace received her PhD in 2014, could also find themselves in trouble together with the former first lady for fraud or misrepresentation.
‘Yes, we have received a report from the lecturers from the Sociology Department on how she got her doctorate and because that is a legitimate complaint, there are investigators looking at it,’ Nguni said.
According to the ZACC, Grace Mugabe, unlike her husband, the former President of Zimbabwe, does not stand the benefits of immunity as a member of the former Fist Family.
The immunity agreement which was signed by her husband, the former President Robert Mugabe, as one of the conditions for him to step down in November, does not extend to the rest of his family. Therefore, any other member of the former first family including the former First Lady, are all open to prosecution – ZACC explained.
‘First of all, in terms of the law and Constitution, the president of Zimbabwe has got immunity from certain actions during his term of office and upon retirement,’ Nguni explained.
‘Now according to the Constitution, the rest of the first family does not have immunity from prosecution and we are going to follow the law. So if there is evidence that a member of the former first family killed somebody, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, because that’s outside of our mandate, will investigate and make an arrest.’
‘If there is an allegation against a member of the former first family, and not the former president, we will investigate that and take the matter to the National Prosecuting Authority. Remember we don’t take matters to the courts. It’s the National Prosecution Authority which does that,’ he informed further.
Officials at the anti-graft body also added that Grace is facing an arrest over the disappearance of diamonds in vaults when the former government ordered diamond mining companies in Chiadzwa to suddenly stop operating to pave way for the establishment of Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Mining Company.
Further with the first family, the inside stories are indicating that Grace Mugabe’s sons, Robert Mugabe Junior, Bellarmine Chatunga and Russell Goreraza, are also under investigations by the ZACC, and likely to face arrests under charges of gold smuggling, murder and extortion among others.
‘Mugabe’s sons Chatunga, Robert Jr and Goreraza are also under investigation on illegal gold trading allegations,’ ZACC informed.
Reporter: Shmailah Namuddu
