Zimbabwe arrests Vice President Chiwenga's wife over fraud allegations

The Vice President of Zimbabwe, Constantino Chiwenga's wife was arrested by authorities on December 14. Marry Mubaiwa is charged with money laundering, fraud, and violation of exchange control regulations. According to the spokesperson of Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) John Makamure, Mubaiwa will be presented before the court on December 16. ZACC was appointed by Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2019 to tackle the corruption at high-level. Chiwenga's wife had made n immediate comments. 

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Reportedly, an internal ZACC memorandum of the charges which has been seen by an international media agency showed between October 2018 and May 2019 Mubaiwa is accused of unlawfully transferring nearly $919,000 to South Africa under the guise of import goods. However, Mubaiwa claims that she never did any of it.

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Controversial timing of the arrest

The timing of her arrest has fueled another set of speculations as recent media reports stated that she will be going through a divorce with Chiwenga. The Zacc memo has also accused Mubaiwa of obtaining the certificate of marriage without her husband's consent when he was ill. They both have been married under the Zimbabwean customary law since 2011. Chiwenga had returned to his country in November after receiving four-month medical treatment in China for the blocked oesophagus.

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Reportedly, the duo has not been seen in public since then. Chiwenga even attended the annual governing party conference along on December 14. ZACC is currently under pressure to show that its efficiency and is costing Zimbabwe nearly $1bn annually. On the other hand, some critics of ZACC believe that the agency is conflicted and cite the head judge, Loice Matanda-Moyo. ZACC's head judge is the wife of Zimbabwe's Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo, a top ally of President Mnangagwa. 

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(With ANI inputs)