Zimbabwe’s Health minister Obadiah Moyo was sacked by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the wake of claims of corruption regarding a deal to procure coronavirus test kits.
A statement issued by the Chief Secretary to the President, Misheck Sibanda, said that Moyo had been dismissed “with immediate effect for conduct inappropriate for a government minister”.
The statement was shared by the Minister of Information Nick Mangwana on Twitter.
Moyo was accused of illegally awarding a $42 million tender to Drax International for the supply of COVID-19 drugs and personal protective equipment fully aware the company was not a pharmaceutical but a consultancy firm.
Last month, Moyo was arrested and detained at Rhodesville Police Station in Harare. He was subsequently granted bail for 50,000 Zimbabwean dollars ($2,000).
He became the second minister in Mnangagwa’s government to be arrested over corruption with the other being former Tourism minister, Prisca Mupfumira.
A local representative of Drax International, Delish Nguwaya, was also arrested in connection with the same investigation.
