AG Tomana faces corruption probe
Mar 19, 2011 1:55 PM | By SUNDAY TIMES CORRESPONDENT
Attorney General Johannes Tomana faces a government inquiry into allegations
that he corruptly used his office to shield four close allies from being
prosecuted.
The move is likely to worsen relations in Zimbabwe’s shaky inclusive
government.
Deputy minister of Justice, Obert Gutu told the Sunday Times after studying
the Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) report, which documented
Tomana’s alleged role in helping clear the four in court, he was left with
no option but to call for an inquiry.
In the report, Tomana is accused of corruptly using his office to shield
former deputy minister Bright Matonga, gold dealer Patrick Mavros, Charles
Nherera and Beauty Basile from being prosecuted for different crimes.
Gutu, who is also member of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC), said he will prepare a formal request to Tsvangirai
to take up the issue with the cabinet, and thereafter an inquiry will be
instituted.
“In my humble opinion, that report concerns serious matters which go to the
root of the functionality and capacity of the attorney general,” Gutu said.
“Let me hasten to add that this is not a political issue, because the
attorney general’s office is a critical constitutional office. The people of
Zimbabwe should have total trust and confidence in whoever occupies that
office…
“It is just a matter concerning the suitability of an individual to hold the
very important constitutional office of the attorney general.”
Tomana was controversially appointed attorney general in 2008 – and his
appointment is one of the outstanding issues in the Global Political
Agreement (GPA). The report titled, “Johannes Tomana’s Reign as Attorney
General of Zimbabwe – A Trail of Questionable Decisions 2011″, is set to be
tabled before the cabinet next week.
Tomana has declined to comment in the media, but is fighting back.
Last week he is said to have forced publishers of a local daily newspaper to
retract a report quoting the TIZ report.
The editors of the paper responded by carrying a full page story dismissing
the TIZ report as fake in a bid to avoid being arrested. Insiders at the
newspaper said there were threats of arrest against the reporters who
covered the story, the editors and the publisher.
“The newspaper was forced to defend Tomana because they had been threatened
with arrest. That is why they dedicated the whole page virtually dismissing
the report as fake and telling the world that they had been misled,” said an
insider.
But the TIZ insists the report was accurate and said it still wanted to see
the controversial Tomana being probed.
TIZ programme co-coordinator John Maketo said: “TIZ notes and appreciates
the independence of the office of the attorney general. However, the manner
in which Mr Tomana handled the cases referred in the report points to
serious abuse of office on his part.”
Ministers from the MDC insisted the Tomana issue would be tabled before the
cabinet and thereafter a cabinet inquiry might be opened.
But the move is likely to face stiff resistance from Zanu-PF.