Mugabe's admission of $15b looted in 7 years is suspicious too precise - a warning to Mujuru. By P Guramatunhu

MDC-T and other opposition political leaders have joined the bandwagon of Zimbabweans citizens calling for detailed investigations in the looted $15 billion by President Mugabe’s own admission earlier in March 2015. One has to question the intentions of the opposition in joining in the condemnation of the looting and Mugabe in making the admission.

The proverb “Charity begins at home”, in its benign and charitable original meaning, means that children learn good habits at home from their parents.  The proverb, in its less charitable and corrupted meaning, means that we should look after our own kids, family and nationals before donating anything to help faceless stranger be they the victim of an earthquake, drought, etc.

All our political leaders would do well to know that criticism, like charity, begins at home otherwise it becomes the classic case of seeing the blade of grass in someone else’s eye but failing to see the log in one’s own eye.

“We are dealing with gang of plunderers who have no conscience whatsoever and whose greed knows no bounds,” wrote Vince Musewe, joining the bandwagon condemning the looting of the $15 billion by government.

President Mugabe admitted that $15 billion in diamond revenue was looted in the last 7 years. Ordinary Zimbabweans have very good reasons to be angry with this given that government collects $3 billion in taxes a year and therefore the looted fortune is the equivalent to 5 years of paying no income tax, no sales tax and the multitude of other charges the government wrings out of us! Five years! Blimey, this is like having a Christmas bonus three or four times a year!  

When one politician whose greed, we all know, “knows no bounds” condemns the greed of another politician whose greed, we also know, “knows no bounds”; the condemnation loses its cutting edge, there is a ring of hypocrisy and mockery of us, the people, the real victims of the looting in this case.

President Mugabe was very clear on when the looting took place, “the last 7 years”, 5 of which include the GNU. People like Morgan Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti, Joice Mujuru, etc. cannot therefore, in all honesty, condemn the looting that took place when they were senior members of the GNU.

President Mugabe was also very precise about the amount that was looted $15 billion and the time period the looting took place; for a country in which corruption has become the norm for the last 36 years, how can he know the amount and the period with such surgical precision? There is clearly a lot more to this story then he is letting on; this smacks of a carefully stage managed story.

It would not be surprising that if at some point of greatest strategic importance to Mugabe and Zanu PF, information is leaked out leading to the discovery and accounting of every dollar of the $15 billion. All those involved in the looting and plunder will be arrested and punished and all of them will happen to be Mugabe’s political opponents. President Mugabe and all his friends will not be implicated in any of the looting; they will all be squeaky clean!

Since all the $15 billion would have been accounted for, all corruption investigations particularly those into Marange diamonds will stop and the subject closed!

Instead of the grand theft of $15 billion Marange diamonds being a serious political setback for President Mugabe, it is turning into his greatest weapon with which to frighten or fight off his political enemies. It is no secret that former VP Joice Mujuru was up to her eyes in the looting of Marange diamonds and Mugabe will have all the details on all her dealings. When Grace Mugabe launched her campaign to “baby dump” Mujuru in 2014, she accused Joice of being corrupt and, more specifically, of dealing in diamonds; so she too knows some of the details, at least.

President Mugabe’s timely admission of looting in the diamond industry was a warning shot across the bowls for Zimbabwe People First ship and its captain Joice Mujuru. Next time, he is going for the jugular vein and he is not one to miss or have mercy!