Zimbabwe ministers accused of obstructing justice – (Home Affairs Minister Theresa Makone) and (Didymus Mutasa)
2010 07 02 –
http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?from=rss_&fArticleId=5539096
July 2, 2010
Zimbabwe police accused two ministers of obstructing justice by trying to release three men charged with pressuring a white businessman to surrender part of his company to them, a spokesman said on Friday.
One of the ministers is an ally of President Robert Mugabe, who has been trying to force foreign-owned companies, including mines and banks, to sell majority shares to local blacks. Critics said this will further damage a staggering economy battling to recover from a decade-long crisis.
Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Didymus Mutasa visited two police stations in Harare this week demanding the release of his son, who had been arrested with two other men, a police spokesman said.
Mutasa went to the stations with Home Affairs Minister Theresa Makone, who is in charge of the police, the spokesman said.
Makone is a senior figure from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which formed a unity government with Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party more than a year ago to try to end a decade-long political and economic crisis.
In a statement in the state Herald newspaper, Senior Assistant Commissioner Wayne Bvudzijena said the two ministers had sought to obstruct justice – but he did not say whether they would face charges.
“The ministers sought to protect (an) accused person facing charges of wantonly seizing property outside the law and threatening others,” he said.
A Harare magistrate court granted the three accused men bail on Thursday but they remain in police custody after the state appealed against their release.
Mutasa and Makone were not available for immediate comment. – Reuters