Zimbabwe's ousted finance minister arrives for bail hearing

Zimbabwe’s former finance minister Ignatius Chombo on Monday arrived for a bail hearing at a court in Harare.

He was among those detained by the military before Robert Mugabe resigned as president. On Saturday he was charged with corruption, including trying to defraud the central bank in 2004.

The ousted head of the influential ZANU-PF youth league Kudzanai Chipanga, who was a member of a group allied to Mugabe and his wife Grace, also appeared at the court for a bail hearing.

His lawyer said he was beaten in detention, although Chombo made no mention of that and had no injuries visible as he stood before magistrates in Harare.
Chombo, a Mugabe ally who had been promoted to finance minister in October, was arrested at his home on November 15 after the military seized power.

The court ordered Chombo be detained until Monday when his bail application will be heard.

The former university lecturer was interior minister before his October promotion.

In the same court, Chipanga faced charges of making statements aimed at undermining public confidence in the defence forces and was detained until Monday for his bail application.

Hamandishe faces six counts of kidnapping and of publishing falsehoods and was detained in custody until December 8.

In his inauguration speech, Mnangagwa had laid out a grand vision to revitalise Zimbabwe’s ravaged economy and vowed to rule on behalf of all the country’s citizens.

At the weekend the army returned to barracks outside Harare after being stationed outside government building since the take over.