Zimbabwe’s central bank has ordered the closure of bank accounts belonging to two top allies of ousted President Robert Mugabe, state owned Herald newspaper reported on Friday.
The directive that was sent to the country’s financial institutions ordered them to “identity and freeze” all accounts run by of former local government minister Saviour Kasakuwere and ex-higher education minister Jonathan Moyo.
“You are directed to identify and immediately freeze all accounts in the name of the above named individuals and any accounts in which the said individuals are directors or have a known beneficial interest,” the directive stated.
“The effect of the freeze is that (except any inflows into the account, which shall be processed normally and immediately notified to the unit) no other transactions shall be processed from a frozen account, until further the unit directs otherwise.”
The two were influential members of a faction within the ruling Zanu-PF party which backed former First Lady Grace Mugabe’s campaign to succeed her husband.
The central bank’s directive also ordered that all accounts of companies where the two former ministers are directors “or have a known beneficial interest” be frozen.
Mr Moyo in a tweet has said that the directive “spells doom for ordinary people and the businesses” adding that due process had not been followed:
The real risk & possibility that bank accounts can be frozen just like that without due process in the so called New Era in Zimbabwe run by the Military, spells doom for ordinary people or businesses and worse for investors!
— Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) December 7, 2017
The two former ministers were identified as members of the generation 40 (G40) cabal that surrounded former president Mugabe, “taking advantage of his advanced age to engage in criminal activities”.
