Mayor jailed for US$460 theft
Mayor jailed for US$460 theft, reads today’s Herald headline. The Mayor of Bindura has been jailed for six months for stealing $460 from Bindura. That’s right. One more time. 6 months in jail. For stealing Four Hundred Sixty Dollars.
If you read on, it sounds like actually she’s returned $250 , and her sentence was shortened on the condition she returns the outstanding $210 – so, in exchange for no money at all in her own pocket in the long run, she’ll be serving six months in jail.
It’s worth noting that the Bindura mayor, Ivory Matanhire, got into office on an MDC-T ticket.
On the one hand, it’s great if Zimbabwe’s courts are finally taking corruption seriously. Certainly, jailing a mayor over a bit of misappropriated travel funds sends a message that your position doesn’t protect you from prosecution. Unfortunately, it’s really hard not to feel like it’s just a bit of political posturing.
Just last week, Khadija Sharife, writing for 100 Reporters, exposed worrying allegations on the theft of billions of dollars from Zimbabwe’s Marange diamond fields. A research paper released by Transparency International – Zimbabwe in January shared concerns about theft from Zimbabwe’s gold, diamond and platinum mines. A 2012 report by the Anti-Corruption Trust of Southern Africa reviews a list of outstanding corruption cases which have not been prosecuted or taken seriously.
Every day, members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police engage in roadblocks which Zimbabweans have taken to calling ATMs – They’re more about the ZRP getting money for their pockets then they are about policing our streets or ensuring road safety.
Unfortunately, in a context like this, the message from the Bindura Magistrate who sentenced Mayor Matanhire isn’t so much “don’t steal public funds or you’ll go to jail.” It’s more like “unless you know the right people, don’t steal public funds or you’ll go to jail.”