Chiredzi West Member of Parliament Darlington Chiwa has been remanded in custody by a Masvingo regional magistrates’ court after being charged with theft involving Constituency Development Funds (CDF).
Chiwa appeared before Magistrate Caroline Nyoni, where he was formally charged with diverting public funds meant for community projects to personal use. He was remanded in custody to tomorrow as the State continues to oppose his release on bail.
According to prosecutors, Chiwa allegedly spent the funds on personal items including alcohol, groceries, shoes and building materials. The case was brought to court following investigations by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC).
The State, represented by prosecutor Godfrey Mugondo, argued against granting bail, citing fears that the legislator could interfere with witnesses. Chiwa is being represented by lawyer Charles Ndlovu of Ndlovu and Hwacha Legal Practitioners.
Court documents allege that Chiwa, while serving as chairperson of the Chiredzi West CDF committee, manipulated other committee members who were co-signatories to the constituency bank account. He is accused of sidelining them in order to remain the sole signatory.
Prosecutors further allege that in April last year, Parliament transferred the equivalent of US$50,000 in ZiG currency into the constituency account. Chiwa is said to have moved the funds into his personal account and proceeded to use more than ZWG$990,000 for personal expenses.
The State claims that only about ZWG$270,000 was actually used for legitimate constituency development projects.
It is also alleged that Chiwa attempted to cover up the offence by submitting forged acquittal documents, falsely claiming that all the funds had been used for community development. An internal audit by Parliament reportedly exposed inconsistencies, prompting the matter to be reported to ZACC.
The case is continuing.
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