(NEWZIMBABWE) Biti complicit in RBZ grand theft: Kereke
Strategic alliance ... Former RBZ chief Gideon Gono and his defence lawyer, Tendai Biti
09/01/2014 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
BIKITA West legislator, Munyaradzi Kereke, has claimed that opposition MDC-T secretary general, Tendai Biti, was an accomplice in criminal activities at the central bank and cannot, therefore, act as legal counsel to former governor Gideon Gono.
Kereke wants the Constitutional Court to order a probe into his allegations that Gono looted about $40 million in State funds from the central bank.
The former RBZ chief, set to become a Zanu PF senator and long considered a confidant and financial adviser to President Robert Mugabe, recently pulled a surprise by hiring Biti to defend him in a development that also cost the editor of the State-run Herald newspaper his job.
Now Kekere, once a top advisor to Gono, claims the former finance minister had his fingers deep in the national cookie jar “which makes him a suspect and witness” in the case. Kereke says he is working on legal processes to have Biti barred from representing Gono.
“I am in the process of making the necessary legal applications for Biti to recuse himself from representing the second respondent to the extent that he is a legitimate witness on some of the matters I am raising in my application as much as he is also a suspect in the criminal case,” Kereke claims.
“A point of law to note is that second respondent and former minister of finance Biti have a common criminal case which they must together answer to.”
He said Biti had personally withdrawn International Monetary Fund (MF) cash given to the government and moved the money into a privately owned bank that later collapsed.
“The underlying background to this is that then minister of finance Tendai Biti, who now acts as legal counsel for (Gono) withdrew $150 million in funds from an RBZ account held at IMF without even the knowledge of the central bank,” Kereke averred. He claimed the money seemed to “thin” progressively as it was moved from one bank to another and later abused.
“Some of the funds were later abused at the combined hands of the second respondent and the ministry of finance under the express direction of Biti. The forensic audit report on Interfin Bank as already presented to the honourable court confirms this abuse,” he said.
During campaigns ahead of the general elections last year, President Mugabe claimed that the government was failing to account for at least $500 million in IMF cash.
“We had half a billion dollars from special drawing rights but we do not know what he (minister Biti) used it for. No money went to Bulawayo including Gweru, Mutare and Harare which came later. We also want to boost agriculture and mining,” Mugabe told supporters.
Biti however rejected the charges claiming instead that he had stopped Mugabe and his lieutenants in Zanu PF from pillaging the cash.
“They wanted to loot the fund and give it to their cronies. They were used to just taking like broiler chickens that feed like there is no tomorrow,” charged the former finance minister.
“The idea behind allocating the money through banks was to stop Mugabe from parcelling the money to his friends and relatives. It went too industry, infrastructure and that is what Zimbabweans are looking for.”
Meanwhile Kereke has also hit back at Gono's accusations that he is mentally unstable, declaring he was “extremely” sound.
“Quite to the contrary, I professionally hand-held the second respondent for at least 8 years as his advisor at the RBZ writing all monetary policy statements for Zimbabwe, carrying out macro and micro-economic policy research as well as preparing virtually all speeches for the second respondent and, more telling, assisting him with at least 99.9% of submissions for the whole of “his” academic work for the doctoral studies,” Kereke said.
He added: “If I were to be a near-lunatic as is suggested by (Gono) then it would be the two of us with him given that he comfortably took advice for eight years virtually on a daily basis from the alleged mentally retarded person in me.”
Approaching the ConCourt, Kereke added, showed he was a “diligent lunatic”.
Suggestions he was mentally unstable were“… false, provocative, malicious, cold-hearted and demeaning but amply telling on (Gono’s) own very advanced state of derangement, typical of fraudsters when cornered”.
Labels: CORRUPTION, GIDEON GONO, MUNYARADZI KEREKE, RBZ, TENDAI BITI
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(SUNDAY MAIL ZW) ‘Budget spells death of old economy’
Sunday, 22 December 2013 00:00
Sunday Mail Reporter
MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, under pressure from some Western diplomats, is frantically trying to convince some senior party members to gang up against secretary-general Mr Tendai Biti following his decision to agree to represent the former Governor of the Reserve Bank, Dr Gideon Gono, in a constitutional case filed by Dr Munyaradzi Kereke.
About two weeks ago, Dr Kereke filed a constitutional application citing the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission as the first respondent and Dr Gono as the second respondent in a case in which he is accusing the Commission of acting unconstitutionally by allegedly failing to probe allegations of abuse of office, corruption and theft against Dr Gono.
Following the filing of the case, Dr Gono, who is the Zanu-PF Senator-elect for Buhera, last week engaged lawyer Mr Biti to fight the allegations levelled against him by Dr Kereke, a move that has not been well received by some Western diplomats who would have preferred to see the MDC-T using the former RBZ boss to tarnish the image of Zanu-PF.
The MDC-T was founded and is funded by the British government together with the US administration. As a result, Western diplomats in the country play a key role in the affairs of the MDC-T.
It is understood that the pressure from the diplomats added to Mr Tsvangirai’s fury as he already had been angered by the decision that was taken by his subordinate without first making consultations with the party’s leadership.
Reports say an infuriated Mr Tsvangirai over the past few days has been making frantic calls to some senior party members, including Mr Douglas Mwonzora, Mr Chamisa, Ms Thokozani Khupe and Mr Lovemore Moyo, trying to convince them to condemn Mr Biti’s decision to defend Dr Gono in court.
Mr Tsvangirai is said to be arguing that while legally Mr Biti as a lawyer can represent any client of his choice, from a political point of view, the move was ill-timed and ill-advised.
MDC-T spokesperson Mr Mwonzora confirmed that indeed he had discussed the issue about Mr Biti representing Dr Gono with Mr Tsvangirai after it had been reported in the Press. Party organising secretary Mr Nelson Chamisa would neither deny nor confirm the tiff, referring all questions to Mr Luke Tamborinyoka, who is Mr Tsvangirai’s spokesperson.
Added Mr Chamisa: “It is better for Luke Tamborinyoka to comment on the issue.” Although Mr Tamborinyoka was not reachable yesterday, highly placed MDC-T sources privy to the ongoing power wrangles within the party, which is still smarting from an embarrassing thrashing during the July 31 harmonised elections, insist that Mr Tsvangirai is calling for Mr Biti to be held to account.
“Soon after the news broke out that Mr Biti would be representing Gono, there was a lot of traffic from some Western diplomats calling our leader expressing reservations over the move by the secretary- general which the majority view as ill-timed and ill-advised. However, even before the calls from these diplomats, Mr Tsvangirai was already livid at the decision.
He was furious that Biti took the decision without even consulting the party leadership despite the political undertones and overtones that will be brought about by this case.
“Mr Tsvangirai was asking why Biti was creating problems for the party. Although this is a constitutional case, from our standpoint this is a political case and we can’t just be too simplistic about it, considering that Biti is our secretary-general. The least Biti could have done is to consult the leadership rather than acting as a lone ranger. He should have taken advice on the political implications of this case,” said one top MDC-T official who refused to be named for fear of victimisation.
A prominent constitutional lawyer based in Harare who refused to be named for professional reasons said: “It’s Dr Gono’s right to chose a lawyer of his choice and it’s fine for my learned friend Biti to choose any client of his and I actually wish Biti the best. He is a good lawyer.
“However, after so many years in Government and away from practice, I think Biti may be rusty and he has his work cut out because he is going to have to punch above his weight in each round.
“Remember also that my learned friend in the past handled mainly criminal cases and this constitutional case may present some challenges. The criminal court is different from the constitutional court where he is going to come before a full bench of nine judges. It’s possible that Mr Biti might opt to instruct other advocates to handle this matter for him.
“Like I told you, Mr Biti is a good lawyer, but I think on this one, he is acting like a bantamweight boxer trying to go for the heavyweight division. Let’s see how things turn out.” Another lawyer, however, said the legal fraternity in Zimbabwe was a very “thin market” where specialising in one area is not common “so Biti should be able to find his way” in handling this constitutional case.
Efforts to get a comment from Mr Biti proved fruitless as he was unreachable on cellphone. However, he told the media last week that it was his right to choose clients of his choice.
Labels: BUDGET, MDC, MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, MUNYARADZI KEREKE, TENDAI BITI
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(HERALD ZW) Gono, Biti ties stir hornet’s nest
December 18, 2013
Takunda Maodza Assistant News Editor
Former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr Gideon Gono has hired MDC-T secretary-general, the lawyer Mr Tendai Biti to fight allegations made by Zanu-PF legislator Dr Munyaradzi Kereke that he was involved in corrupt dealings during his tenure at the apex bank.Zanu-PF Manicaland Province has nominated Dr Gono to fill the vacant Buhera Senate seat, but his cosy relations with senior MDC-T officials is causing unease about where his allegiances lie.
The seat fell vacant following the death of Cde Kumbirai Kangai on August 24. Mr Biti was Finance Minister from 2009 to earlier this year and worked directly with Dr Gono.
The two were initially sworn enemies, with Mr Biti calling Dr Gono a terrorist who deserved to be shot, but relations have thawed to the point where the MDC-T secretary-general is giving the former RBZ boss legal representation.
Dr Kereke’s graft allegations, involving millions of US dollars, pertain to the time when both Dr Gono and Mr Biti were in Government. Dr Kereke was for a while one of Dr Gono’s most trusted advisors at the RBZ.
Also cited in the court case, which is before the Constitutional Court, is the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission.
Dr Gono is accused of compromising the independence of the anti-graft body through cash and other inducements, all sourced from Government coffers.
Zanu-PF Manicaland provincial chairman Cde John Mvundura yesterday confirmed they had forwarded Dr Gono’s candidature for the Buhera seat to a “higher office”.
However, there is much unease within the Zanu-PF leadership about Dr Gono’s suitability.
Documents in our possession show Dr Gono hired Mr Tendai Biti on December 16, 2013 and that Mr Biti has already made representations to the Constitutional Court on the ex-RBZ chief’s behalf.
While some Zanu-PF officials say it is Dr Gono’s right to get legal representation from any lawyer, his choice of Mr Biti has made many others nervous about his loyalty to the party.
Last night, Cde Mvundura said: “We have dealt with the Dr Gono issue and forwarded our recommendations to the party hierarchy. It is now up to the leadership.”
The nomination was endorsed by the Zanu-PF Manicaland provincial co-ordination committee which met at Marymount Teachers College on December 7. It is understood that the nomination is now before the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission for confirmation.
A senior Zanu-PF official yesterday told The Herald that they were “disturbed” by Dr Gono’s behaviour.
“Dr Gono on Monday hired Biti to represent him in a fraud case in which he and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission will appear before the Constitutional Court. What is disturbing is the fact that this is happening at a time when he (Dr Gono) wants to be Zanu-PF senator for Buhera yet his trust and faith in Biti is so overwhelming,” he said.
Another official said the “party must consider the implications of giving Gono the Buhera seat when he is wining and dining with the enemy”.
“He is determined to undermine the party and its leadership, especially now after his bid to have his term as RBZ Governor extended failed. We ought to be careful with him,” he said.
But party secretary for administration Cde Didymus Mutasa, who is said to be influential in Zanu-PF Manicaland, said there was nothing wrong with Dr Gono’s decision to work with Mr Biti.
“It is his right to look for the best lawyer. If he thinks Biti is the one he wants to pick, it is up to him. Biti practices in Zimbabwe. He practices in Zimbabwean courts and not in South Africa or England. It is up to Gono to choose who he wants to defend him,” Cde Mutasa said.
But a Zanu-PF Politburo member with close ties to the Zimbabwe Defence Forces countered: “We have been told that some people in MDC-T want to besmirch the image of the military and other security servives and they think they can get help from Gono in doing this. We sincerely hope he does not go rogue.”
What is of particular interest is how the Gono-Biti relationship has mellowed. At one point Mr Biti wanted Dr Gono arrested, and today he is helping him avoid jail.
In the early days of the inclusive Government, Mr Biti vigorously on several occasions pestered Sadc to convene an Extraordinary Summit principally to remove Dr Gono and then Attorney-General Mr Johannes Tomana from office.
So bad were their relations that on May 22, 2009 Dr Gono wrote to then Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai from MDC-T to intervene.
Read part of the letter: “As you may be aware Hon Prime Minister, the strained relations between the Hon Minister of Finance and myself are a matter of public knowledge and, need I say, concern.
“For more than a year now, the minister has uttered, publicly and privately, words and statements that are not only criminally defamatory but also seriously insulting to my person, family and indeed, to the institution that I work for. His misleading statements are also career limiting in my field of finance and economics.
Dr Gono said Mr Biti “accused me of being at the epicentre of (the) Zanu-PF terror machine, an economic saboteur, terrorist and number one Al-Qaeda who deserves to be shot by a firing squad”.
After a year in the inclusive Government, Mr Biti suddenly went mum about Dr Gono.
In 2012, there were reports that Dr Gono helped Mr Tsvangirai access some US$1,5 million to get an official residence as the Prime Minister. At the same time, it is alleged Mr Biti released another US$1 million from Treasury for the same purpose.
The alleged case of double-dipping from State coffers has never been fully made public with all parties involved denying the allegations.
And last month Mr Biti told a radio station, “Gono has the nation at heart although some people wanted to use him and they indeed used him and just dumped him. We first had challenges, but eventually we had a very good working relationship. He had the nation at heart.”
Labels: COURTS, DIDYMUS MUTASA, GIDEON GONO, MDC TREASON, MUNYARADZI KEREKE, TENDAI BITI
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(NEWZIMBABWE) Zanu PF anger as Gono hires MDC-T's Biti
18/12/2013 00:00:00
by Gilbert Nyambabvu
A DECISION by former central bank governor, Gideon Gono, to hire MDC-T’s Tendai Biti for his corruption fight has left a few nickers in a twist among the Zanu PF hierarchy with some top officials questioning his loyalty to the party.
Gono’s former charge at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Munyaradzi Kekere, who is now an MP, has revived allegations that the ex-governor looted millions of dollars in public funds from the apex bank.
Kereke, last week, filed an application at the Constitutional Court which seeks to force the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) to investigate the allegations against his former boss.
Among a raft of claims, Kereke alleges that Gono, long considered a confidant and financial adviser of President Robert Mugabe, took more than US$37.5 million, R1,4 million and more than £21,500 pounds in state funds which he converted to his personal use.
According to the Zanu PF-leaning Herald newspaper, Gono has hired former finance minister and MDC-T secretary general, Tendai Biti, to represent him in the case.
Gono, who left the bank in November after being at the helm for ten years, has since been recommended to become Zanu PF’s senator in Manicaland province, replacing the late Kumbirai Kangai.
Senior party officials not named by the paper told the Zanu PF Herald that they were disturbed by Gono’s links with Biti.
“Gono on Monday hired Biti to represent him in a fraud case in which he and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission will appear before the Constitutional Court,” said one of the officials.
“What is disturbing is the fact that this is happening at a time when he (Gono) wants to be Zanu PF senator for Buhera yet his trust and faith in Biti is so overwhelming,” he said.
Another top official said Zanu PF “must consider the implications of giving Gono the Buhera seat when he is wining and dining with the enemy”.
“He is determined to undermine the party and its leadership, especially now after his bid to have his term as RBZ Governor extended failed. We ought to be careful with him,” he said.
Equally unimpressed was a politburo member said to have “links to the military”
“We have been told that some people in MDC-T want to besmirch the image of the military and other security servives and they think they can get help from Gono in doing this. We sincerely hope he does not go rogue,” the unnamed official said.
Labels: COURTS, GIDEON GONO, MDC TREASON, MUNYARADZI KEREKE, TENDAI BITI
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