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Harare – A former minister who served under deposed Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe was found guilty of corruption and sentenced to four years in prison on Friday, his lawyer said; it is the first conviction of an official of the Mugabe era since he was dismissed from office.
When President Emmerson Mnangagwa took power, he promised to eradicate corruption to attract investors into an economy paralyzed by a decade of hyperbole.
Samuel Undenge, Minister of Energy in Mugabe's government, was accused of having awarded a $ 12,650 contract without having to bid on a company that did not work. His lawyer, Alex Muchadehama, told Reuters that he would appeal the court's decision, saying the sentence was "shocking".
He will serve only two and a half years of the four-year sentence Former foreign minister, Walter Mzembi, is facing charges of "abuse of power And former Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo was accused of attempting to defraud the central bank more than a decade ago. The country chooses a new president and members of parliament on July 30 in what should be a close race between the Zanu-PF of Mnangagwa and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
A poll released on Friday showed that the vote would not provide a clear winner, with 40 percent of voters choosing Mnangagwa and 37 percent electing Nelson Chamisa.
Reuters
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