The Bulawayo High Court has granted US$100 bail to Deputy Mayor Edwin Ndlovu and Councillor Mpumelelo Moyo, who are facing allegations of soliciting a US$20000 bribe in connection with a land allocation deal.
Justice Ngoni Nduna ordered the two city officials to reside at their declared home addresses, surrender their passports, and report weekly to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).
Additionally, Cllr Moyo, the chairperson of the Bulawayo City Council (BCC) Finance Development Committee, was required to surrender the title deeds to his house.
The two appeared before Bulawayo Magistrate Shepherd Mjanja on Friday, where the case was remanded to December 13, 2024.
According to state representative Brenda Nyoni, the charges stem from events between October 10 and November 14, 2024.
During this period, Cllrs Ndlovu and Moyo allegedly demanded a bribe from Tsitsi Mapfumo, the coordinator of Labenmon Investments (Private) Limited, a Chinese company, as a “reward” for facilitating the allocation of 5.6 hectares of land in the Umvumil Industrial area for the construction of a cement mixing plant.
Nyoni told the court that in November 2023, Labenmon Investments, through Mapfumo, had initially applied for 10 hectares of land but was informed by the Town Planner, Mr. Mkhwebu, that no land was available. A second application was submitted in April 2024 with further details about the proposed project. On October 10, 2024, the council allocated 5.6 hectares for the cement plant.
Following the allocation, Cllr Moyo allegedly visited Mapfumo’s residence, informing her that BCC councillors expected a “reward” for facilitating the decision. Cllr Moyo reportedly followed up with two phone calls before visiting Mapfumo’s residence with Cllr Ndlovu to demand US$20 000, explaining that the money was intended to compensate 20 councillors with US$1000 each.
“Ndlovu listed the names of the 20 councillors and left the list with the complainant. Feeling pressured by their demands, Mapfumo reported the matter to ZACC. A trap was set, leading to the arrest of the accused,” Nyoni said.
