Higher Education minister, Jonathan Moyo, has warned “factionalists” who are “corruptly using public and State institutions” that they will soon be caught, exposed and face the consequences.
His statements come as he is facing allegations of corruption after siphoning over $400 000 from the State-controlled Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (Zimdef).
He has claimed that the allegations being levelled against him were a political plot, apparently being pushed by a Zanu PF faction reportedly led by Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa — popularly known as Team Lacoste.
“Sooner or later the capture and corrupt use of public and State institutions to enable a factional power grab will be exposed with consequences!” Moyo wrote on his Twitter account.
He went on to retweet a tweet from one of his followers, Nduku Nduna, which read, “Team Lacoste is busy wasting resources fighting Prof (professor) Moyo instead of fighting poverty”.
Zanu PF is embroiled in factional fights pitting Team Lacoste and Generation 40 (G40), and Moyo is alleged to be a key member of the latter.
Moyo, who is jointly accused with his deputy Godfrey Gandawa in the Zimdef corruption case, is facing serious fraud, money laundering and criminal abuse of office charges following donations — including bicycles he gave to his Tsholotsho North constituency — which the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) alleges was not done above board.
But Moyo has blamed his political rivals in the factional torn Zanu PF of trying to silence him.
At one point, the former Information minister took to Twitter to plead his case and equated himself to the legendary Robin Hood, who robbed the rich to give to the poor.
In an interview with the Daily News recently, soon after the corruption allegations emerged, Moyo said he had done nothing unlawful, claiming everything was above board.
And in a thinly-disguised attack on Mnangagwa, whom he clearly believes is behind the attempts by authorities to arrest him on the charges, Moyo also said he was “sick and tired of Gukurahundi politicians and their mouthpieces poking their dirty noses over what we can and cannot have in our communities, as if we ever poke our noses into their communities”. Daily News
