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Crime Reporter
Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) Commissioner Gabriel Chaibva has distanced himself from reports circulating that he issued statements or expressed his views over the documentary titled “Gold Mafia” being currently serialised by an international broadcasting channel which is purporting to expose a network of alleged money laundering and gold smuggling in the country.
In a statement, Comm Chaibva said the reports were meant to tarnish both his image and that of the commission.
He said for the record, ZACC was also closely following the documentary.
“My attention was drawn to an offensive social media article which claimed that Commissioner Gabriel Chaibva of the Zimbabwe Anti- Corruption Commission, has thrashed the Al Jazeera film. I was further drawn to another article titled “I support the Gold Mafia, says ZACC Commissioner”.
“Both articles were authored and distributed by http://opr.news. Now, therefore, I wish to set the record straight and state that I, Gabriel Chaibva, a Commissioner of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, has never at any one point in time, spoken to or issued any statement expressing my views directly or indirectly, about the Al Jazeera films.
” I have not spoken to nor been asked for an opinion or comment by any journalist whatsoever. Nobody at any time solicited my views on these Al Jazeera films and consequently I do not know where the http://opr.news got their news from,” he said.
Comm Chaibva said in normal circumstances, he was not bothered by social media writings involving his name but when social media activists brought in institutions of the State, like what had happened in this case, he was bound to react to such blatant falsehoods as they were calculated to undermine and cast negative aspersions on the institutions of the State.
“I urge social media activists and readers to be responsible and desist from dragging State institutions into their ghostly activism on social media.
“The public should then understand why I am a very strong advocate for stringent and punitive legislation on cybercrimes and my insistence on a regulatory framework that calls for disclosure of identities.
“The articles sought to portray me as a malcontent who does not know my responsibilities to Zimbabweans who elevated me to where I am, a constitutional commissioner. It seeks to ridicule the sterling work being done by ZACC,” he said.
Online Reporter