LATEST: Mugabe hands over $24 million

FORMER president Robert Mugabe has surrendered $24 million held in a private Zanu PF bank account with a local commercial bank which does business with government and the ruling party after his ouster in a military coup last November.

Mugabe had exclusive control of the secret account, which always had millions of dollars.

“After the coup, there were worries that Mugabe would refuse with the account as he was the only signatory to it. However, he was engaged and he agreed to surrender the account which had USS24 million in it,” a senior Zanu PF official said.

“He could have refused with it, but he felt that he does not need to act like a rogue leader and just let go. Of course, the account was and is still open to abuse.”

The money added to the ruling party’s staggering war chest of around US$200 million for the do-or-die elections for President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his military backers who toppled Mugabe in a high-risk operation six months ago.

ED Mnangagwa’s Zanu PF  has already spent millions in t-shirts,  caps, body wrappers, campaign vehicles and rallies.

the independent