Source: Mugabe cuts Tomana loose – DailyNews Live
Bridget Mananavire 9 June 2017
HARARE – President Robert Mugabe has fired Prosecutor-General (PG)
Johannes Tomana, after he was found guilty of both misconduct and
incompetence by a tribunal that was set up by the nonagenarian to
determine if he was still fit to continue holding office.
Tomana was appointed PG in November 2013, after the functions of the
Attorney-General and the Prosecutor-General were split under the country’s
new Constitution.
Until then, he was Zimbabwe’s Attorney-General, a position he had been
appointed to by Mugabe in December 2008 when the country was still
operating under the old Lancaster House constitution.
Justice ministry’s permanent secretary Virginia Mabiza announced Tomana’s
removal from office in yesterday’s government gazette.
“It is hereby notified that His Excellency the President has received the
report of the tribunal appointed under section 187 (3) as read with
section 259 (7) of the Constitution to inquire into the question of
removing the prosecutor general Johannes Tomana, from office for
incompetence and misconduct.
“In that report, the tribunal has advised His Excellency the President
that the Prosecutor General ought to be removed from office for
incompetence and misconduct.
“Accordingly, in terms of section 187(8), of the Constitution, the
prosecutor general is removed from office with effect from the date of
publication of this notice,” Mabiza said.
Tomana was suspended in July last year over a slew of allegations which
included criminal abuse of office and gross incompetence involving a
number of cases that were before the courts.
The tribunal, which was headed by retired High Court judge Moses
Chinhengo, completed its probe in February.
The panel also included University of Zimbabwe Dean of Law Emmanuel Magade
and Harare lawyer Melina Matshiya.
Among the issues that the panel was interrogating was Tomana’s alleged
refusal to issue a private prosecution certificate to Francis Maramwidze
for the prosecution of disgraced former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)
advisor and legislator Munyaradzi Kereke.
The former aide to retired RBZ governor Gideon Gono is serving an
effective 10 years in jail for raping his then 11-year-old niece at
gunpoint almost seven years ago, after four years of his sentence was
suspended if he behaves well.
Other allegations related to Tomana’s refusal to issue certificates of
prosecution against former Telecel director Jane Mutasa, who was facing
fraud charges, as well as obstructing justice after ordering the
withdrawal of charges against two suspects who were being accused of
planning to bomb Gushungo Dairy, a company owned by the First Family.
He was also accused of abusing his office by withdrawing charges against
former deputy minister Bright Matonga, who was accused of corruption in
2008.
The tribal also heard that the former PG had ordered the withdrawal of
charges that had been laid against former Bindura Hospital acting
superintendent, Beauty Basile, who had been charged with criminal abuse of
office.
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