Keypoints:
- Mzembi appears in court after eight months in remand prison
- Trial centres on government TV screens loaned to churches
- Constitutional and procedural questions dominate proceedings
ZIMBABWE’S former tourism and foreign affairs minister, Dr Walter Mzembi, has finally had his day in court after spending nearly eight months in remand prison, as his long-running abuse-of-office case opened before the High Court in Harare on Wednesday, January 28, 2026.
Mzembi, who served in President Robert Mugabe’s cabinet until the November 2017 military intervention, pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal abuse of duty as a public officer following his arrest in June 2025 after returning to the country from Zambia.
The case is being prosecuted by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) under Section 174(1)(a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
At the centre of the trial is whether Mzembi can legally be prosecuted under a law amended in 2023 for actions allegedly committed between 2011 and 2014 — a question that raises serious constitutional concerns about retroactive criminal liability and accountability within Zimbabwe’s public finance system.
Charges dating back more than a decade
The State alleges that during his tenure as minister of tourism between 2011 and 2014, Mzembi unlawfully donated four Public Viewing Area television screens valued at US$200,000 to three private religious organisations without Treasury authority.
The churches named in the indictment are the Zion Christian Church in Masvingo, United Family International Church in Harare led by Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa, and Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries led by Prophet Walter Magaya.
Prosecutors argue that government assets cannot be donated or loaned to private entities without board-of-survey procedures, written requests and approval from the Ministry of Finance, as required under the Public Finance Management Act.
The State maintains that Mzembi abused his authority by showing favour to the churches while causing prejudice to the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry.
Legal twist over amended law
A major point of contention concerns amendments to Section 174 of the Criminal Law Code introduced in 2023, which narrowed the offence by requiring proof that a public officer acted with specific knowledge that their conduct violated official duties.
Mzembi’s alleged offences predate the amendment by almost a decade, with the final transaction occurring in October 2014.
Zimbabwe’s Constitution explicitly prohibits retroactive criminal prosecution. Section 70(1)(k) states that no person may be convicted of an act or omission that was not an offence at the time it took place.
Defence lawyers argue that charging Mzembi under the amended provision violates this constitutional safeguard, known as the principle of non-retroactivity of criminal law.
Despite this, the indictment relies on the post-2023 version of the statute.
‘Loans, not donations’
Mzembi’s defence maintains that the television screens were never donated but loaned under cabinet authority.
According to court papers, the Ministry of Tourism acted on instructions from an Inter-Ministerial Tourism Committee — also known as the 2010 World Cup Committee — established after Zimbabwe failed to host matches during the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Forty large screens imported from China in 2010, valued at about US$2 million, had become redundant and were lying unused in government storage.
Cabinet later authorised the promotion of religious tourism by temporarily loaning some of the equipment to churches capable of hosting large congregations and attracting visitors.
Who carried responsibility
Mzembi argues that under Zimbabwean law, responsibility for seeking Treasury approval lies with the permanent secretary, who serves as the ministry’s accounting officer.
He insists that he acted on cabinet policy and that there is no evidence he overruled or pressured the accounting officer to bypass procedures.
Court records show no written objections were raised to the Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, the Auditor-General or the Ministry of Finance at the time of the transactions.
State witnesses weaken prosecution
The prosecution’s case appeared strained on its opening day after the State withdrew seven of its nine intended witnesses earlier this month.
Lead witness Zvinechimwe Ruvinga Churu, the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration in the Office of the President and Cabinet, testified that while ministers may issue policy direction, asset disposal procedures fall squarely under the accounting officer.
He told the court that if a minister insists on irregular conduct, the accounting officer must formally object in writing — a step not taken in this case.
Permanent secretary evidence
Second witness Thokozile Chitepo, who served as permanent secretary years after the events, confirmed that official correspondence described the transactions as loans rather than donations.
She told the court that ownership of the screens remained with the Ministry of Tourism and that accountability for Treasury approval lay with the permanent secretary.
Under cross-examination, Chitepo acknowledged that failure to follow procedure would implicate the accounting officer rather than the minister.
Finance director confirms process
The State’s third witness, former tourism ministry finance director Richardford Nyamakura, testified that he acted on written instructions from the permanent secretary, not from Mzembi directly.
He confirmed that the loans were executed pursuant to the Inter-Ministerial Committee’s decision and that internal documentation consistently referred to the screens as loans.
Political and legal implications
Mzembi was first arrested in February 2018 alongside senior ministry officials over separate allegations involving US$1.6m in public funds. Those charges were later dropped after his co-accused were acquitted.
In the current proceedings, he faces only the television screen allegations. The State has not explained why two screens loaned to the University of Zimbabwe were excluded from the indictment.
Mzembi has repeatedly been denied bail since his arrest in June 2025.
Case adjourned
Proceedings were adjourned to February 3, when the State’s final witness is expected to testify.
As the trial continues, legal analysts say the outcome may depend less on the screens themselves — still in use at the churches — and more on constitutional interpretation, accounting authority and whether Zimbabwe’s criminal law can lawfully reach back more than a decade.
