Zimbabwe’s former foreign affairs minister, Walter Mzembi, has been jailed after a Harare court dismissed his application challenging his placement on remand.
The ruling was handed down by regional magistrate Donald Ndirowei, who extended Mzembi’s detention, setting the stage for a formal trial date expected to be announced on Friday.
Mzembi, 61, who once served as a cabinet minister under the late Robert Mugabe and represented Masvingo South in Parliament, had returned unexpectedly to Zimbabwe on June 14, after nearly seven years in self-imposed exile in South Africa.
His return shocked many in Harare, where he had previously fled while on bail in 2018, citing urgent cancer treatment needs that he claimed could only be addressed in South Africa.
Despite repeated requests from Zimbabwean authorities for his return to face justice, Mzembi remained abroad, prompting the government to issue multiple warrants for his arrest.
The Herald, Zimbabwe’s state-run newspaper, confirmed the court’s acknowledgement of three active arrest warrants against Mzembi, who faces serious allegations of corruption and abuse of public office.
In 2021, Zimbabwean state media reported that the government had requested South Africa to extradite Mzembi to face charges of theft and criminal abuse of duty. These charges stem from his tenure as minister of tourism and hospitality, particularly during Zimbabwe’s co-hosting of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation Conference in 2013. At the time, he was accused of misappropriating US$847,000—over R15 million in public funds.
