Corrupt Officials Rope In State Security Agents To Silence Whistleblower - Report
Gokwe Town Council officials whose underhand dealings were unmasked have reportedly engaged state security personnel to intimidate whistleblowers.
One of the whistleblowers who are allegedly being intimidated is Gokwe ward 1 councillor Davies Taruvinga (Zanu PF), who is a witness in the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc)-investigated case.
He told NewsDay that he was recently picked by Gokwe Criminal Investigations Department at the weekend and interviewed on trumped-up charges. He said:
I was summoned to Gokwe CID in connection with some trumped-up allegations to silence me. They interviewed me over a council tuckshop which was being rented by my wife. The same tuckshop has been rented by different councillors of late and is fully paid.
I see this as an attack on the anti-corruption fight and intimidatory tactics. I feel the police are being used to suppress this fight.
Taruvinga also said that they initially reported corruption at Gokwe council to but no action was taken a suggestion that the police had been bribed.
He added that they approached Zacc with the help of some independent anti-corruption organisations and the anti-graft body successfully instituted investigations, leading to the discovery of the looting of council funds and subsequent arrests of these officials.
More: NewsDay
