The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) recorded a 74% conviction rate in 2024, marking an improvement from the previous year’s 71%.
According to the Commission’s 2024 Annual Report, fifty-eight (58) cases went through full trial during the year, resulting in forty-three (43) convictions and fifteen (15) acquittals.
However, the case clearance rate at the courts stood at 16.9%, a figure ZACC said highlights a significant backlog requiring urgent attention to ensure timely delivery of justice.
During the period under review, the Commission made a total of two hundred and ninety-five (295) arrests. Of these, two hundred and thirty-five (235) were males, fifty (50) were females, and ten (10) were juristic persons. Males accounted for 76.6% of the arrests, while women accounted for 17%.
ZACC investigated and completed four hundred and seventy (470) cases, surpassing its target of two hundred and fifty (250).
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Three hundred and forty-three (343) dockets were referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for prosecution, while one hundred and twenty-seven (127) were closed due to insufficient evidence. Fraud accounted for the majority of the cases referred to the NPA, representing 62% (213 cases), followed by criminal abuse of duty with 32 cases (9%) and theft of trust property with 17 cases (5%). Other corruption-related cases such as money laundering, smuggling, and tax evasion constituted 14% of all dockets.
High-profile cases made up fifty (50) of the 343 referred to the NPA, accounting for 14.5%. These involved individuals at director level and above, with transactions valued above US$100,000.
The Commission also undertook joint investigations with various agencies. Working with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), the Council for Legal Education, and the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA), ZACC probed corruption involving the export of vehicles, fraudulent conversion of educational certificates, and abuse of agricultural inputs.
Under the “No to Abuse of Civil Servants Vehicle Import Scheme” operation, which began in June 2023, a total of 212 cases were reported. Ninety-eight (98) dockets were submitted to the NPA, resulting in 62 arrests and the recovery of several vehicles.
The Commission also completed investigations into 34 cases of lawyers who fraudulently obtained certificates at the Council of Legal Education (CLE), with all cases referred to the NPA for prosecution.
In another joint operation involving ARDA, the Grain Marketing Board (GMB), Agritex, the National Command Centre, and the Police, ZACC investigated the abuse of the ARDA Inputs Facility. The operation led to the recovery of 155 metric tonnes of Compound D fertilizer valued at US$115,475 and 47.65 metric tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate fertilizer
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