Blow for ED probe team

KUDAKWASHE CHIBVURI

The President Emmerson Mnangagwa-appointed commission of inquiry to probe cases of suspected financial mismanagement and corruption in Harare has been dealt a heavy blow following the death of one of the key witnesses who was expected to testify and provide evidence of massive graft at town house.

Dr. Funny Machipisa, who served as Districts Administration Manager, died this week in Harare and was supposed to testify at the ongoing inquiry and give evidence of massive corruption within Harare.

Before his death, Machipisa had provided a dossier of corruption within Harare including irregular allocation of residential and commercial stands mainly by councillors and officials.

He had also spoken on how there were attempts to hound him out of his post to a low level post as Head of Academic Programs at the School of Excellence describing the move as a way of silencing him.

Lead investigator in the commission Thabani Mpofu expressed shock at the death of Machipisa.

 “I am devastated because he was expected to appear (before the commission of inquiry) soon,” he said.

In a letter dated 9 July, 2024, Machipisa revealed that he was hounded out because he had opposed councillors’ wish to have residential and commercial stands in leafy suburbs instead of their respective wards.

“After I had worked hard in processing reports to council for the allocation of 2 224 residential stands I informed the 59 councillors that they were to be allocated residential stands within their respective wards in terms of the government directive of 2020.

“This did not go down well with the councillors as they said they wanted to be allocated stands in leafy suburbs such as Borrowdale, Highlands, Greendale, Mt Pleasant, Malbereign where stands had been created,” he said.

He said he warned the councillors that they were in breach of a government directive.

“I am the focal person on housing matters in the department and their plan to remove me from office is to avoid my submission of information to the commission of inquiry which is currently investigating the City of Harare on various issues. Any new person as my replacement will obviously have no information to submit and can be coerced to profess ignorance on housing matters,” he wrote then.

“Cartels and cabals have been employed to settle scores against both councillors and officials,” Dr. Machipisa lamented.

Machipisa had served council for 41 years before his demise.

Mpofu also raised concern that the commission had lost contact with a senior council official, Matthew Marara who is supposed to testify as his name features prominently in acts of corruption in the capital.

“We have also lost contact with Marara who hasn’t been available to give evidence to the commission,” he lamented.

Marara is at the centre of a controversial US$300k pay out that he received from council before he was controversially reinstated.

The saga has sucked in councillors who now stand accused of being complicit.