By Kudakwashe Vhenge
Harare Mayor Jacob Mafume was today (Wednesday) arrested on charges of criminal abuse of office.
Mafume presented himself to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) around 3 PM this afternoon before he was handed over to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) Rhodeview police station in Harare where he is currently detained, his lawyer has confirmed.
“The Mayor has been arrested on charges of criminal abuse of office. These charges are rising from the allocation of residential stands in the Westlea suburb area which happened in March this year”.
Speaking to Bustop TV, Mafume’s lawyer Tonderai Bhatasara added that the anti-graft unit has been looking for Mafume since Sunday.
“They called him on Sunday where he indicated that he was out of town in Bulawayo and he will present himself when he is back in Harare. He came back from Bulawayo today and I accompanied him to the authorities where he got arrested.
Using its official twitter handle, Mafume’s party, MDC Alliance has since released a statement reprimanding his arrest citing it as yet another case of persecution and weaponisation of the law against its members.
“In yet another case of persecution and weaponisation of the law against MDC Alliance and its members, Harare Mayor [Jacob Mafume] has been arrested by the [ZRP]. The charges against him are unclear” said the MDC.
Mafume is detained at Rhodesview Police Station where he is spending the night.
He will be appearing in court tomorrow morning.
