BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI
Incarcerated Victoria Falls mayor Somvelo Dhlamini was denied bail on Monday after the Hwange regional magistrates’ court linked him with a move by war veterans to forcibly remove town clerk Ronnie Dube from his office last week.
Dhlamini was arrested Thursday last week, two days after the group of about 14 war veterans and members of the Hwange Residents Association stormed into Dube’s office and locked the town clerk’s office saying they wanted him to stop reporting for work until corruption allegations against him were investigated.
The mayor was whisked away from his council offices by Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) investigators to the regional court in Hwange where he was charged with fraud according to his lawyer Givemore Muvhiringi
“(He was denied bail) because the people who locked the town clerk’s office gave the keys to him and the court believes they did it on the instructions of his worship,” Muvhiringi said.
Regional magistrate Collet Ncube remanded Dhlamini in custody to October 24.
Prosecutors said “On the 15th of August 2022 and at Victoria Falls City Council offices the accused Somvelo Dhlamini, who is the mayor of the city council and in his capacity as such unlawfully and intentionally made a misrepresentation and purported to be Valentine Munyaradzi Maseko, who he had earlier on in 2003 purchased stand 1139 by making an application using the name Valentine Munyaradzi Maseko to Victoria Falls City Council under the Wood Road Housing Scheme upon which the council offered him stand number 1771 Wood Road which needed a deposit of US$25 000.”
It was alleged that Dhlamini paid US$10 000 and the balance was supposed to be paid within five days, but he failed to settle the debt and paid $7 500 000 instead.
His lawyers had told the court that the mayor was a good candidate for bail because the case against him was weak and that he was not a flight risk.
“We had submitted that he is a good candidate for bail, that the states’ case is hopeless as he did not misrepresent himself as any other person to council, staff who knows him,” Muvhiringi said.
“Council was not going to suffer any prejudice and he is not a flight risk and has no previous conviction.
“The court agreed to this but made a U-turn on the issue of the demonstrations.”
Before his arrest Dhlamini told VicFallsLive that he did not have any prior warning about the demonstrations.
He also said Zacc investigators were on the ground to investigate the corruption allegations before the tables were turned against him.
The power struggles between the mayor and the town clerk have been raging on for some time amid charges by residents that corruption has paralysed service delivery in the resort city.
Victoria Falls ratepayers have been boycotting the city council’s 2023 budget consultation meetings demanding answers over various allegations of corruption.
Residents boycotted 2023 budget meetings held last month as they demanded to be first addressed by council over the alleged irregular sale of commercial stands.
Ratepayers say they also want on explanation on how Dube was given a US$89 000 loan to buy a car and why the mayor was being bought a luxury car as a handshake and the alleged irregular leasing of council breweries.
The Victoria Falls Combined Residents Association has since written a letter to different government ministries, police and parliament asking them to investigate the allegations.
They said they had proof of corrupt deals by the town clerk and councillors which have resulted in poor service delivery.