THE Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) says it was sent on a wild goose chase to trace the US$15 billion stolen diamonds as alleged by the late former President Robert Mugabe.
This was said by Zacc deputy chairperson commissioner Kuziwa Phineas Murapa during a two-day anti-corruption reporting media workshop in Bulawayo which ended on Tuesday.
He was responding to questions from journalists on whether Zacc had carried out investigations into Mugabe’s claims that diamonds worth more than US$15 billion werelooted in Marange, Manicaland province.
Murapa said what stalled the investigation into the missing diamonds was that there was no complainant.
“This is why we feel that this workshop is very important so that when you stumble on such information, give us the whole information and we will investigate,” he said,
“On the US$15 billion that the former President talked about, again nobody has really come out to say who is the accused, where did they get the diamonds from?
He added: “Investigation has to show who the complainant is, who the accused is and how you link the accused to the actual prejudice?
“So that link was not created, and we do not know who the complainant was, it was just a statement which was made.”
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Murapa, however, cast doubt on the possibility of the country having lost diamonds worth US$15 billion.
“If you speak to other authorities they tell you that for Zimbabwe to have had that sort of diamonds within a period of a year or so, internationally it is impossible,” he said.
“So we never again got the full story as to who actually took those diamonds.”
Mugabe claimed back in 2015 that US$15 billion worth of diamonds might have been stolen from Marange diamond fields, adding that only about US$2 billion could have flowed into the national purse.
The claims caused a public uproar, with citizens demanding that the matter be investigated.
Mugabe later escaped parliamentary probe on the missing diamonds after he was recused from the oral evidence hearing by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Jacob Mudenda.
Meanwhile, Zacc legal manager Spiwe Chafungamoyo on Tuesday revealed that over US$270 million worth of assets acquired illegally, which include houses and trucks, were seized in the past four years.
“In 2021, assets worth US$7 million were seized and the commission filed 18 cases in court which were referred to the National Prosecution Authority,” Chafungamoyo said.
“In 2022, 20 cases worth US$29 million were filed at the High Court and eleven orders were received and the commission seized 63 trucks, 28 trailers, seven properties and several vehicles.
“In 2023, 39 cases were filed with NPA with a value of US$136 million. Investigations of high level corruption cases involving high profile members of society with 71% conviction were for those referred from criminal prosecution,” he added.
