HARARE – Former tourism minister Walter Mzembi has been granted US$1,000 bail pending judgement in his corruption trial after failing in at least three previous bail applications.
Justice Benjamin Chikowero, who presided over the trial, ordered Mzembi’s release on Monday with strict conditions: he must deposit the bail amount, surrender his passport, remain at his Harare address, and not travel beyond a 30km radius of the court.
His lawyer Emmanuel Samundombe, said Mzembi remained in custody late Monday due to a mix-up with his release papers but was expected to be freed on Tuesday.
Mzembi, 62, has been in custody since June 2025 after unexpectedly returning from Zambia – his chosen home after the collapse of Robert Mugabe’s government in a 2017 military coup.
He is accused of donating outdoor television sets – purchased at a cost of US$2 million for 2010 FIFA World Cup fan parks – to several churches, including Zion Church of Christ, UFIC and PHD Ministries, without treasury or cabinet approval.
At trial, Mzembi testified that the late former president Robert Mugabe and then prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai had authorised the donations under a policy of promoting “religious tourism.”
Former government officials who testified on his behalf also argued that Mzembi was not the accounting officer in his ministry and that any criminal liability, if it existed at all, rested with the permanent secretary.
Mzembi, who has been battling intestinal cancer, is awaiting judgment in the case.
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