PROSECUTOR-GENERAL Loyce Matanda-Moyo recently said corruption is spreading faster due to the absence of legislation that protects whistleblowers.
The fight against corruption, she said, required whistleblowers and witnesses to succeed.
“So, for investigations to be complete, whistleblowers are the primary persons who must come up with that information, which then leads to investigations,” Matanda-Moyo said in a statement to commemorate the 8th Africa Anti-Corruption Day held last week.
“Once we have whistleblowers leading the investigation, it means that we have thoroughly investigated the cases, which would make it easier for the National Prosecuting Authority (of Zimbabwe) to prosecute corruption cases.”
In 2022, Cabinet approved the Principles of the Witness Protection Bill, 2022 that had been presented by Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi.
According to a post-Cabinet briefing statement at the time, the Witness Protection Bill seeks to fill the gap in the law by establishing legislation to provide for witness protection in Zimbabwe.
The absence of adequate witness protection laws has resulted in the police taking the responsibility of protecting witnesses, it said.
“Cabinet reports that the purpose of the Bill is to provide for the establishment of an office that caters for the protection and placement of witnesses under temporary, interim and permanent protection. The Bill seeks to regulate the powers, functions and duties of the office. Furthermore, the Bill will establish the necessary procedures and measures on how witnesses are put into the witness protection programme,” the statement read.
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More than two years later, we are still talking about the absence of legislation to protect witnesses.
We have heard cases of witnesses wriggling out at the last minute either due to pressure from corruption suspects or after realising that the burden falls on their shoulders as they are not protected by the State.
There is no doubt that Zimbabwe has put in place mechanisms to fight graft and is a signatory to regional and international conventions that fight graft, but what is clearly lacking is the political will to protect whistleblowers.
Zimbabwe has signed and ratified the United Nations Convention Against Corruption and Sadc Protocol Against Corruption.
It is one of the 48 African countries that have ratified the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, a continental convention to stem graft as estimates show Africa is losing over US$150 billion annually to corruption.
However, signing and ratifying the conventions is the first leg in the anti-graft fight.
These conventions must be domesticated through national laws and policies that cover asset declaration, witness protection, anti-money laundering and bribery, among others.
Zimbabwe has been found wanting on domesticating the regional and international conventions on the fight against graft.
Political will is required to attain that.
Lawmakers and civil society organisations must pile pressure on the Executive to craft laws that protect witnesses and ensure they see the light of day in Parliament.
In the absence of whistleblower protection laws, the fight against graft will be circuitous and will not bring the desired results.
Corruption must be confronted with the right tools.
