Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa is facing backlash from the press over the rate at which his administration is recovering the up to Ksh843 billion (USD 7 billion) that is stashed abroad by its corrupt leaders.
In a report on Sunday, August 28, Zimeye, an integrated network of journalists and other professionals reporting on Zimbabwe, revealed that the country had only recovered Ksh241 million (USD2 million) since Mnangagwa launched the fight against graft two years ago.
The attacks reflect mounting frustrations with Mnangagwa's administration given the vigor in which the Head of State had promised to go after the corrupt officials.
Mnangagwa promised to go after the stashed millions that had been hidden abroad in form of cash or property.
At the time, the targeted countries were South Africa, United Kingdom, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Mauritius and Kenya among others.
The recovery was being conducted by Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), the Zimbabwean equivalent of Kenya's Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
“ZACC is in the process of recovering assets from U.A.E, UK and South Africa. Assets from South Africa have been located with a value of approximately US$1.5 million.
"The use of mutual legal assistance tends to take time thereby extending the time frame for investigations. Interpol has been helpful,” read a statement from ZACC spokesperson John Makamure.
The ZACC spokesperson further explained tracing the properties abroad was a challenge since most of them were not registered in the names of their victims.
"The rise of people buying vehicles on behalf of others thereby registering vehicles in different names makes tracking of vehicles difficult," he added.
In 2019, the State detained Joram Gumbo, a Cabinet Minister who was allied to Mnangagwa for abuse of office over USD3.7 million.
He was accused of directing an airline owned by the State to use property registered in the name of his relative. He was the transport minister at the time.
A report by Reuters in 2019 indicated that some Mugabe-era Minister who were arrested were released on bail and it seems their court cases hit a roadblock.
