By Our
Staff Correspondent, HARARE Zimbabwe
Politicians and senior Government officials bullying health
officials to release their friends and relatives held in Covid-19 quarantine
will be arrested, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has warned.
The commission is investigating reports of prominent people
accused of facilitating the release of those being held in quarantine before
being cleared by Covid-19 tests and undergoing the minimum quarantine in a
designated centre.
The authorities have already shortened quarantine in centres so
long as they can trust those who must be isolated will keep promises to stay at
home, but even here they insist on a negative test before they allow
home-quarantine for the rest of the 21 days.
ZACC chairperson Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo said using political
muscle to release relatives and friends from quarantine was tantamount to corruption
and those found on the wrong side of the law would be arrested.
“We strongly warn politicians, ministers and other Government
officials against abusing their powers to remove people from quarantine in this
Covid-19 era.
“As ZACC, we will not hesitate to arrest those who commit such a
serious offence.
That should never be done and we will arrest them without fear
or favour,” said Justice Matanda-Moyo.
She said such public figures would be breaching the trust bestowed
on them as leaders in communities.
“We expect those people to be protectors of the masses. This
becomes serious in the sense that we haven’t yet found a cure for the pandemic
and people are dying worldwide,” she said.
Meanwhile, Justice Matanda-Moyo said investigations were underway
to establish the circumstances under which a person in Covid-19 quarantine who
was reported to be a relative to a minister was released from quarantine.
“We gathered information that the person was corruptly released
from quarantine after some intervention by a relative who is a minister. We are
investigating the case and if anyone is found on the wrong side of the law, he
or she will be prosecuted. Whose relatives should be quarantined? Does that
mean patients related to ministers or other high-ranking officials cannot
spread the virus?” said Justice Matanda-Moyo.
Her office wrote at the end of last week to the Ministry of Health
and Child Care to get more details on the case but the Permanent Secretary Dr
Agnes Mahomva was yet to respond. – Herald
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