Back to Index

State withdraws case against Minister Mangoma
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
July 18, 2011

The state has withdrawn its case at the High Court against the MDC Deputy Treasurer-General and Energy and Power Development Minister, Hon. Elton Mangoma who was facing trumped up charges in a tender deal involving the purchase of electricity meters. Hon. Mangoma was arrested early this year and the trial was to start at the High Court today.

However, before the start of the trial, Chris Mutangadura of the Attorney-General's Office indicated that the state was withdrawing from prosecuting Hon. Mangoma. The withdrawal of the case by the state is a clear indication that the arrest of Hon. Mangoma was politically motivated.

A few weeks ago Hon. Mangoma was acquitted at the High Court on charges of purchasing five million litres of fuel from a South African company in order to save a national crisis as the country had run out of fuel stocks. Hon. Mangoma was arrested twice this year and remanded in custody for close to two weeks for the two trumped-up charges.

The MDC stands vindicated that the concocted charges against Hon. Mangoma were political and that his only crime was that he is a senior MDC official.

Hon. Mangoma's acquittal is an indictment on the person and office of the Attorney-General who has wasted the taxpayer's money in besmirching and persecuting an innocent Zimbabwean. It is no wonder that the so-called abuse of office charges against Hon. Mangoma have failed to stick, just as similar cases against thousands of MDC activists have crumbled like a deck of cards over the past 12 years.

MDC cadres have always been subjected to all sorts of trials and tribulations. They have faced persecution, murder, arrests and arson but they have always prevailed because no one can stop an idea whose hour has come.

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP