Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday fired Tourism Minister Prisca Mupfumira after she was detained for questioning over the disappearance of millions of dollars during her time as welfare minister, reported Reuters.
This is the first time that the newly formed anti-graft agency, which is working to account senior government officials suspected of corruption, has charged any active cabinet minister.
Mupfumira is facing allegations of cheating the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) of over US $95.5 million.
The Tourism Minister was “removed … from the office of cabinet minister and minister of government with immediate effect”, a statement from Zimbabwe’s presidency said, without giving further details.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission arrested Mupfumira in July. She has become the first sitting minister of the ruling Zanu-PF party to be jailed for graft under Mnangagwa’s new administration. The Zimbabwean President has identified endemic corruption as a major contributor to the country’s economic woes and vowed to root it out.
Ex-president Robert Mugabe fired Mupfumira as social welfare minister weeks before a military-led coup that toppled the long-time ruler in November 2017. But, she was re-appointed with a new portfolio after the coup.
Mupfumira has denied the charges. She applied for bail at the High Court and Justice Erica Ndewere on Monday reserved judgment. Justice Ndewere, however, dismissed Mupfumira’s application to have her case referred to the Constitutional Court for determination.
