Johannesburg | Monday
ZIMBABWEAN Information Minister Jonathan Moyo is facing the ire of two South African organisations and a United States-based aid agency for allegedly embezzling millions of rands.
Moyo stands accused of absconding with R100 000 belonging to the television production company, Endemol, headed by President Thabo Mbeki’s brother, Moeletsi.
Moeletsi Mbeki confirmed the reports to Sapa, saying Endemol was considering co-operation with other claimants.
He said they might attach and sell Moyo’s luxury home in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, to raise the money he owed them.
A Sunday Times newspaper report said Moyo was also facing legal action from the University of the Witwatersrand for allegedly disappearing with part of a R100-million research grant.
Derek Swemmer, the Registrar of the university said the media report was misleading,and that the amount “involved is far less than R1 million”.
Swemmer said in a statement that Moyo was employed by the university as a researcher in January 1998 on a three-year contract.
“Without the knowledge of the university, he accepted an appointment in the Zimbabwean government in mid-1999. He left the university abruptly in 2000 when it became clear that he was not undertaking the research which formed the basis of his association with Wits, but was instead involved in electioneering at the time of the last general election in Zimbabwe. Any claim the university may have against Moyo would arise out of the performance of his obligations to the university, as he continued to receive a salary until his resignation. The amount involved is far less than R1-million and is the university’s own funds, not Trust Funds and is nothing like the massive sum reported by The Sunday Times.”
Moyo is also being sued by the United States aid agency, Ford Foundation, for an alleged illegal transfer of R1-million from its Kenyan office to a trust in South Africa.
Asked for comment on the allegations, Moyo, who this week pushed through Zimbabwe’s draconian media laws, told the Sunday Times: “I do not speak to the apartheid press.”
Meanwhile, Mugabe threatened to punish gay groups at a weekend campaign rally for his re-election, saying Britain was angry at him for his stance against homosexuality.
Mugabe said British Prime Minister Tony Blair should “expose” his cabinet as full of gays before criticising Zimbabwe, according to the official Ziana news agency.
“I have people who are married in my cabinet. He has homosexuals and they make John marry Joseph and let Mary get married to Rosemary,” Mugabe told thousands of people at a rally in the rural district of Wedza on Saturday.
“We are saying they do not know biology because even dogs and pigs know biology. We can form clubs, but we will never have homosexual clubs. In fact, we will punish them,” he said.
Attacks on Britain are staples of Mugabe’s speeches, especially as the former colonial power has moved toward imposing sanctions on his regime over his increasingly autocratic rule ahead of the March 9-10 presidential election.
Mugabe forced through parliament tough new security and press laws last month, even as the opposition and rights groups accused pro-government militants of stepping up attacks on people who oppose him.
The 77-year-old president, who has ruled since independence in 1980, is struggling for his political survival against a tough challenge from former labour leader Morgan Tsvangirai.
International criticism of Mugabe’s increasingly autocratic rule has stepped up during the last month, as his government has muscled through parliament a raft of legislation curbing civil liberties.
EU foreign ministers last Monday gave Zimbabwe until Sunday to accept observers for the polls or face sanctions, including a suspension of EU aid, as well as travel bans and the freezing of assets for Mugabe and 20 others in his inner circle.
But the Zimbabwe government made no statement on the matter on Sunday, and EU officials in Brussels and Madrid were unavailable for comment as to when the deadline would expire.
On Thursday Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge said the European Union had no right to demand that Harare accept EU observers at the polls.
Mugabe has invited several organisations to send observers including the EU and the Commonwealth, but he specifically excluded Britain from joining their teams.
Mugabe also said the EU could come only as part of a joint delegation with the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific countries, which the ACP would lead. – AFP