Finance minister Ignatius Chombo
Zimbabwe’s former
finance minister, Ignatius Chombo, who is facing graft charges dating back more
than 10 years, was denied bail Monday by a magistrate’s court.
“The court is of the
view that indeed there are compelling reasons to deny the accused person his
right to bail,” magistrate Elisha Singano said.
“I concur with the state
that if the accused is released at this time there will be a public outcry.”
He also said the risk of
Chombo fleeing was high.
Chombo is a former
secretary for administration in the ruling ZANU-PF party and the last finance
minister under President Robert Mugabe.
On Saturday, he became
the first Mugabe loyalist to be charged following the military intervention
that forced the 93-year-old leader from office.
He was remanded in
custody on fraud charges dating from 2004-2009 when he held a different
ministerial role.
Chombo — seen as an ally
of Grace Mugabe, the ex-president’s controversial wife — told the court on
Saturday that armed men in uniform had detained and questioned him for days at
an unknown location.
Chombo appeared on
Monday in the same court that denied bail to Kudzai Chipanga.
The former ZANU-PF youth
league leader is facing charges of causing disaffection in the military after
he denounced the army chief, Constantino Chiwenga.
He was remanded in
custody to December 8.
No comments:
Post a Comment