Once again, Zimbabweans woke up to news of another corruption drama in Harare City Council. This time it involves Harare mayor Jacob Mafume, deputy mayor Rosemary Muronda, and former Harare South MP Shadreck Mashayamombe. Mafume was taken in for questioning by the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission, also known as Zacc, and later released. Muronda and Mashayamombe were arrested and remain in custody. They are accused of fraud linked to the sale of council land. These are serious allegations, and they matter to every resident of Harare.
At first, many reports said Mafume had been arrested and detained. Later, Zacc said he was only called in for questioning and then allowed to go. Zacc spokesperson Simiso Mlevu said Muronda and Mashayamombe were arrested for fraudulent sale of council land and will appear in court soon. This back and forth already tells us something is wrong. In this country, truth is always slow, unclear, and confusing, while corruption moves fast and quietly.
This all comes while there is already a Commission of Inquiry looking into corruption and poor management at Harare City Council. That alone tells us how deep the rot is. When a whole commission is needed just to understand what is happening in one city, it means the system has failed badly. Residents suffer with broken roads, dirty water, and poor services, while leaders fight over land and deals behind closed doors.
What makes this even more painful is that this is not the first time Mafume has faced trouble with the law or suspension by central government. We have seen this movie before. Leaders are accused, suspended, questioned, and then later return to office as if nothing happened. No real closure. No real justice. Just noise in the news, then silence, and life goes on for those in power.
Zanu PF and the government always tell us that they are fighting corruption. They arrest people. They hold press conferences. They create commissions. But ordinary people ask a simple question, where are the big fish convictions. Where are the long sentences. Where is the stolen money and land being returned to the people. Without these, all this looks like theatre, not justice.
Harare land is not just empty ground. It is money. It is housing. It is clinics. It is schools. When council land is sold in shady deals, it is poor people who lose. Families who wait for housing for years are pushed aside so that connected people can make quick money. Then leaders come on TV and say they are shocked by corruption. But corruption does not happen alone. It needs protection, silence, and power.
Zacc says it is doing its job, and yes, arrests are better than nothing. But we must also ask, how did things get this bad in the first place. Who approved these deals. Who signed papers. Who looked away. Corruption is not just about two or three names. It is about systems that allow theft to happen again and again without fear.
As activists, we cannot clap hands just because someone was questioned or arrested. We want full accountability. We want open trials. We want to see land returned to council if it was stolen. We want to see all those involved, no matter their party or position, face the law. Justice must not be selective. It must not be soft on friends and hard on enemies.
Harare residents deserve better. Zimbabweans deserve better. We cannot keep accepting leaders who play games with public resources while citizens drink dirty water and walk on broken roads. Corruption at city council is not small politics. It affects daily life, health, and dignity.
This case must not be swept under the carpet. It must not end with a few headlines and then silence. We must keep watching, asking, and speaking. Because if we do not, the same story will repeat again, with new names, same crimes, and the same suffering people. And that is exactly what Zanu PF rule has normalised, a country where corruption is routine and justice is always delayed.