A government minister has become the first heavyweight taken into custody by the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission (ZAAC).
Minister of tourism Prisca Mupfumira has been in custody since Thursday morning.
"We can confirm that the Minister of Tourism is currently in our custody for questioning and possible due process," ZAAC said in a statement, promising to give further details about the arrest later in the day.
Mupfumira's arrest is linked to a forensic audit by the auditor general, Mildred Chisi, which allegedly implicates the minister in a series of fraudulent conduct at the National Social Security Authority (NSSA). The NSSA is a publicly run pension fund under the stewardship of the public service ministry, with an estimated asset portfolio of US$1,3 billion.
Before the coup of November 2017, Mupfumira was minister of labour and social welfare, where about $82-million is alleged to have been looted or misappropriated.
Last month, President Emmerson Mnangagwa instituted a new ZAAC board led by its chairperson, high court judge Loice Matanda-Moyo, who vowed to "touch the ground running".
The NSSA report may not be made public. Matanda-Moyo said: "There is no legal requirement on ZACC to make the report public. However, the report will be used as part of evidence during court proceedings.
"As soon as we complete analysing the NSSA report, we will take the proper action and ensure that justice prevails. Every person implicated in the report will be investigated and, where evidence of an offence is established, the perpetrators will be brought to book."
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