Online Reporter
Danisa Masuku,Court Reporter
BULAWAYO Ward 26 Councillor, Mpumelelo Moyo, who is facing fraud charges after allegedly demanding US$20 000 from Lebanon Investments, sensationally claimed in court that Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) investigators seized his phone and deleted crucial WhatsApp chats.
Moyo, who was represented by lawyer Prince Butshe of Butshe and Associates, appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Richard Ramaboea where he gave his side of the dramatic arrest at businesswoman Tsitsi Mapfumo’s house.
The councillor said the erased conversations were not about bribes but about employment opportunities for youths in his ward who wanted jobs at Lebanon Investments.
“After they arrested me at Mapfumo’s house, they took my phone and wiped off the WhatsApp chats I had with her. Those chats were about young people from my ward seeking jobs,” Moyo told the court.
Moyo was initially charged alongside Bulawayo Deputy Mayor, Councillor Edwin Ndlovu, but Ndlovu walked free after the State failed to link him directly to the alleged offence.
Moyo has been remanded out of custody to 5 September for judgment.
– More to follow –
derick.khumalo