Harare Town Clerk arrested at Gweru meeting Engineer Hosiah Chisango

Patrick Chitumba and Blessings Chidakwa, Chronicle Reporters
Harare City Council town clerk Engineer Hosiah Chisango was yesterday arrested in Gweru over a series of alleged land scams unearthed in the capital.

Eng Chisango was arrested while attending a town clerk’s forum and is reportedly detained at Gweru Central Police Station.

The Eng attended the morning session of the forum being held at a local hotel before disappearing.

Later it was learnt that he had been picked up by the Special Anti-Corruption Unit and was taken to Gweru Central Police Station.

Special Anti-Corruption Unit head Mr Thabani Mpofu said details of the arrest would be availed at a later date.

“Yes, I can confirm that I have received a report concerning the arrest of the Harare town clerk.

“He was picked up while in Gweru and is detained there. His arrest is in connection to cases of land scams,” he said.

He said the Special Anti-Corruption Unit is also on its way to attend to allegations of land scams at Gweru City Council.

Although he didn’t state when, he just said: “We are coming to Gweru and we are going to arrest a lot of people.”

Sources close to Eng Chisango’s arrested are alleging that he converted an open space into 13 residential stands in Kuwadzana 3.

“Eng Chisango in November 2019 signed 13 offer letters for the stands which he sold and pocketed the money. The layout plan TPF/WR/85/17 was not in the approved plans register,” said the source.

“There was also no authority granted from the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works for change of use from open space to residential, therefore the plan is null and void.”

The source added that Eng Chisango also non-procedurally facilitated the allocation of two residential stands to his wife and a suspected girlfriend in the affluent suburbs of Harare without following due processes.

Our publication is in possession of one of the offer letters issued for a Bluffhill residential stand on March 27, 2020 to Kadiyo Melissa ID number 63-1420328-I-68.

Kadiyo was ordered to pay $150 000 being a provisional deposit for land at Malbereign District Office within seven days from the date of collection of the offer letter.

Part of the offer letter reads: “Please be advised that you have been selected for the offer letter of stand number 3316 depicted on layout plan number TPF/WR/02.20 in Bluffhill Township, Harare.”

Former Harare mayor Herbert Gomba, housing director Addmore Nhekairo, Human Resources Manager Matthew Marara and seven councillors that sit in the Housing Committee and several other council junior employees have been arrested and are facing allegation of prejudicing the local authority of millions of United States dollars in illegal land sells.

In Gweru, there are also fresh land scams involving members of the management who have been allegedly allocating themselves more than two stands against the council policy of one stand per employee as a service package.

Councillor Albert Chirau of Ward 2 allegedly allocated two stands to his 13-day-old and a 4-year-old children in Senga Infill.

Mayor Councillor Josiah Makombe also said heads are going to roll at Gweru City Council.

He said council has already approached the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the Special Anti-Corruption Unit to investigate alleged graft at Town House where officials are allegedly raiding the cash strapped local authority’s coffers.

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