Latest: Jonathan Moyo should be arrested in 24 hrs, Prof faces the music

Jonathan Moyo committed fraud, theft, money laundering and criminal abuse of office: AG

Zimbabwe’s acting Prosecutor-General Mr Ray Goba has said criminal allegations against Zanu PF minister Jonathan Moyo were well-substantiated and urged the Constitutional Court to issue an order compelling him to appear before a magistrate in terms of the law within 24 hours to answer to the charges.

Moyo is in hot soup over allegations that he and his  deputy Dr Godfrey Gandawa abused nearly $500 000 belonging to Zimdef.

Dr Gandawa and Mapute have since been placed on remand at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts, but Prof Moyo filed an application at the Constitutional Court challenging the constitutionality of his arrest.

Responding to Prof Moyo’s challenge, Adv Goba said his office had perused the docket prepared by the investigators and reached a conclusion that there was an “overwhelmingly reasonable suspicion” that the politician and his accomplices committed fraud, theft, money laundering and criminal abuse of office.

To that end, Adv Goba urged the court to dismiss with costs the constitutional challenge by Minister Moyo and instead direct that he immediately surrenders himself to the investigators and appear before a magistrate to answer to the charges.

“The application should be dismissed with the contempt it richly deserves with costs on the higher scale and order that the applicant surrenders to the investigating officer for purposes of appearance before a magistrate within 24 hours of the order of this Honourable Court in accordance with due process,” said Adv Goba.

Adv Goba and his team of chief law officers also picked from the docket that Minister Moyo approved fraudulent transactions which authorised the release of funds to Fuzzy Technologies and was at the end among others, the recipient of some of the funds by way of cash loans and payments from goods such as bicycles and tricycles for chiefs and villagers in his Tsholotsho constituency and furniture, as well as for unverifiable services purportedly rendered by other persons.