Zimbabwe’s Tourism Minister, Prisca Mupfumira, will be spending a night in jail, following her arrest, Thursday, over corruption charges brought on by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc).
The minister, who is the most senior government official to be brought to book over corruption allegations, in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government, is facing seven charges of corruption alleged to have taken place during her tenure as Minister of Public Service, Labor and Social Welfare.
Alleged charges that Mupfumira is facing include criminal abuse of office that ZACC says resulted in the loss of US$95 million at the National Social Security Authority, while she was labor minister.
Lawyers representing Mupfumira have disputed the allegations against their client, who is expected to appear in court Saturday, to seek bail.
Mupfumira is the highest-ranking person in the state to be arrested for corruption charges since the Zacc commission was inaugurated.
The chair of the anti-corruption commission, Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo, wrote in a recent tweet, that “stones will be turned, everyone of them,” as far as ridding the country of corruption, which 60% of Zimbabwean citizens, according to the latest Global Corruption Barometer, think has increased in the last 12 months.
President Mnangagwa, who appointed Mupfumira, has not commented on her arrest or the charges against her.