Harare – Zimbabwe’s former Foreign Affairs Minister, Walter Mzembi will face trial from jail after his bail was revoked for defaulting court attendance for over seven years, a Harare magistrate ruled on Tuesday.
Mzembi was the late president Robert Mugabe last Foreign Affairs Minister before a military coup in November, 2017.
Mzembi was arrested in 2018 and charged with two counts of theft of trust property that occured when he was a government minister.
After his initial arrest in 2018, Mzembi was given bail before he left for South Africa on medical grounds in which his passport was released by the courts.
Mzembi did not come back to Zimbabwe from 2018 until last week.
He had three warrants of arrest for failing to appear in court.
Mzembi was arrested upon his arrival at the Robert Mugabe International Airport.
”The accused person was in wilful default he cannot be trusted with his liberty in the circumstances. His warrants of arrests are hereby confirmed and his bail in respect of the two matters before this court is hereby revoked. He is hereby committed to prison pending trial,”magistrate Donald Ndirowei said in his ruling.
”The accused person’s explanation falls far short from convincing because the period of default is just too lengthy, a period of over seven years without nothing heard from the accused person.
”It has not been proved that for all these years the accused person was bedridden such that he could not travel back to Zimbabwe and attend court,” Ndirowei added.
Before the ruling Mzembi through his lawyer had pleaded to have his warrants of arrest canceled submitting to the court that he failed to attend court because he was sick and suffered from rectal cancer.
He said he was operated on and is a confirmed cancer patient who requires constant and consistent care with critical medication to survive.
In applying to be released on bail Mzembi told the court that he is amenable to submit his passport, and also tendered title deed of his sister as additional security and offered to be under house arrest and 24 hour state surveillance.
But magistrate Ndirowei denied him bail.
The State submitted that Mzembi was a flight risk, that he defaulted to attend court willfully and that he was active on social media during his absence and that he was Saviour Kasukuwere ‘s presidential campaign chairperson in 2023.
The magistrate court was packed with Mzembi’s relatives and friends including journalists who were covering the story.
Mzembi initially went to South Africa in 2018 but in the later years moved to Zambia.
The former Foreign Affairs and Tourism Minister has been active of social media especially on X platform.
He did not tell his followers of his intention to go to Zimbabwe.
Social media was awash with unconfirmed reports that Mzembi met with President Emmerson Mnangagwa when he went to Zimbabwe.
Mzembi trial continues on 1 July, 2025.