HARARE – Police Commissioner Godwin Matanga admitted on Tuesday that their efforts to arrest former President Robert Mugabe’s exiled top aides had come to grief after the International Police Organisation (Interpol) refused to cooperate with Zimbabwean authorities.
“We’re a member of Interpol and there is a facility where as a country we file red notices with Interpol to bring back offenders to the country, but of late there has been a development with Interpol where they suspect that the ZRP is laying some politically-motivated allegation against an individual,” Matanga told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
Mugabe, who died last month, was ousted in November 2017 in a military coup, collapsing his government and forcing his top aides to flee the country fearing persecution by the new military-backed regime of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Among those who escaped before they were arrested were former police chief Augustine Chihuri and former ministers Kasukuwere, Mandi Chimene, Jonathan Moyo and Patrick Zhuwao.
Kasukuwere returned home after receiving assurances about his safety, but was arrested shortly after his return and charged with immigration offences and later corruption.
He left the country in the middle of his trial, as did former tourism minister Walter Mzembi after getting leave from the court on health grounds. Kasukuwere was acquitted in absentia after his appeal against the criminal proceedings was upheld by the High Court.
Matanga admits their efforts to bring the exiled officials home have hit a brickwall.
“Interpol has categorically said they will not help and where a person runs away from Zimbabwe and is given refugee status in a particular country, again Interpol will not assist,” he told MPs.
Matanga said he would be writing to the Home Affairs Minister to use diplomatic channels to try and secure arrests in foreign countries where the officials are being hosted.
ZimLive reported in August that Interpol had declined Zimbabwe’s request to apprehend former local government minister Saviour Kasukuwere, who is currently living in South Africa after skipping the country before the finalisation of his trial for alleged corruption.
Interpol said after a request to issue a red notice for Kasukuwere in May, it considered “the status of the person, the nature of the offence, the general context of the case and the implications for the neutrality of the organisation.”
It concluded: “In view of the above and taking into account the neutrality of the organisation, it is considered that the request may engage the organisation in matters which would bring into question its neutrality according to article 3 of Interpol’s constitution.
“As a result, the General Secretariat is not in a position to publish the red notice against Mr Kasukuwere and the information concerning the individual will be deleted from Interpol’s databases.”
Article 3 of Interpol’s constitution says “it is strictly forbidden for the organisation to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military or racial character,” a clause inserted to protect political dissidents from oppressive regimes.
