KEY POINTS
- Bulawayo councillor jailed for demanding $20,000 bribe.
- ZACC sting operation led to swift arrest.
- Court further says corruption erodes public confidence.
A Bulawayo city councillor has been sentenced to a year in prison for soliciting a US$20,000 bribe to fast-track a cement manufacturing project in Cowdray Park.
Ward 26 councillor Mpumelelo Moyo, who chaired the city’s finance and development committee, was convicted of corruption after demanding the kickback from Labenmon Investments in exchange for approving a 5.6-hectare industrial plot.
Councillor caught in ZACC sting
Prosecutors said the company’s representative, Tsitsi Nyathi, alerted the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) after Moyo pressed for the payment. Nyathi later invited him to her home, where plainclothes officers arrested him moments after he accepted marked cash.
Bribery demand leads to prison sentence
Magistrate Richard Ramaboea on Monday handed Moyo an 18-month jail term, with six months suspended on condition of good behaviour. He will therefore serve an effective 12 months behind bars.
Moyo was initially charged alongside deputy mayor Edwin Ndlovu, but prosecutors later dropped the case against Ndlovu after failing to link him directly to the offence.
Corruption seen as grave offence
Furthermore in his ruling, Ramaboea described corruption by public officials as a “grave offence” that undermines public confidence in local authorities. Moyo, represented by lawyer Prince Butshe of Butshe and Associates, showed little reaction as the sentence was read.
