SUSPENDED Zimbabwe Immigration workers revealed in Parliament yesterday that three former Zimbabwe Republic Police assistant commissioners now deployed to head Immigration Department were allegedly corrupt, taking bribes and engaged in sexual harassment of female workers.
by VENERANDA LANGA
The three — Givemore Charamba (now director of operations in Immigration), Steven Museki (director administration) and Clemence Masango (principal director) — were described by the workers as “having joined Immigration from the police wearing sun-scorched suits and residing at Chikurubi Police Camp, but now own mansions in the affluent suburbs of Waterfalls, Damofalls and the Grange”.
The workers, who were suspended since 2013 for standing up against the three, had appeared before the Magna Mudyiwa-led Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Service, where they told MPs they had resorted to reporting their case to Parliament after then Home Affairs ministers, Kembo Mohadi (now Vice-President), Ignatius Chombo and now Obert Mpofu failed to address it.
“All our efforts to report the corrupt activities by the three came to naught, and before the coming in of Mpofu as Home Affairs minister we sought the help of former First Lady Grace Mugabe through her secretary, but nothing materialised, as we hoped that Grace would take up the matter to former President Robert Mugabe,” Immigration workers’ representative Nkosana Mthunzi narrated to MPs.
“The major stumbling block was Home Affairs secretary Melusi Matshiya, who gets hypnotised by his subordinates, and inferences are that he is very much part of the gravy train,” Mthunzi said.
Serious allegations were levelled against the three to the effect that they were taking up to $10 000 bribes per week to protect illegal immigrants of Pakistani, Nigerian, and Chinese origin. The committee was told that some of the affected foreign nationals were even willing to appear before Parliament to testify.
The three bosses were said to be well-connected to top politicians and whenever their corrupt activities were reported, they just went scot free.
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Two females, Sheila Moyo and Emily Mupeti, who also appeared before the committee broke down in tears as they narrated how Museki sexually harassed them, and after they rejected his advances, they were suspended since 2017. There were other serious allegations that two water tanks donated for border posts were instead taken by Museki and mounted at his two houses owned by his two wives.
The committee heard that there were several cases of female workers impregnated by the Immigration bosses, and other bosses fingered for corruption were Admire Makani, Godfrey Kondo, Prosper Kambarami, Francis Mabika and Evans Siziba.
