Priscah Mupfumira

Prisca Mupfumira, or Priscah Mupfumira, is a Zimbabwean politician and former government minister under President Robert Mugabe. When the President was replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa, she was the first serving ZANU–PF minister to be arrested for corruption.

Prisca Mupfumira
Mupfumira in 2018
Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry
In office
December 2017 – August 2019
PresidentEmmerson Mnangagwa
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byNqobizitha Mangaliso Ndlovu
Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare of Zimbabwe
In office
2014 – 9 October 2017
PresidentRobert Mugabe
Preceded byNicholas Goche
Succeeded byPatrick Zhuwao
Personal details
Political partyZANU–PF
Occupationpolitician and minister

Life

In 2013, Anna Simbanegavi, Fortune Charumbira and Mupfumira were promoted to the "Standing Orders and Rules Committee" (SORC).[1]

In 2014, Mupfumira became the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Services. She was appointed by Mugabe to replace Nicholas Goche, who had been accused of trying to kill the President as part of a coup.[2]

President Robert Mugabe reshuffled his cabinet in early July 2017, pointedly not including his wife. The Minister of Information, Jonathan Moyo, was moved to another ministry. He was not replaced, but Mupfumira was made responsible, even though she was still at the Ministry of Labor.[3] Also, in July 2015, an American trophy hunter killed "Cecil the Lion" in Zimbanbwe using a bow and arrow. The event was said to be legal and became of interest to animal rights around the internet creating a global news story.[4] Mupfumira, when questioned about Cecil's killing, asked, "What lion?"[5]

On 9 October 2017, Patrick Zhuwao was appointed Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare of Zimbabwe.[6] He announced on 10 November that government employees would be receiving bonuses.[7] By the end of November 2017, Robert Mugabe had been swept aside and the new President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced his cabinet. He rewarded some leading soldiers who had assisted his move to power, but he did not sweep away Mugabe's former team. Mupfumira was part of the 22 minister cabinet and was named the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry.[8] After the 2018 parliamentary elections, Mupfumira was returned to cabinet, in the role of Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry.[9]

In July 2019, she was arrested in connection with $94 million that was missing from a pension fund.[10] She was the first ZANU–PF minister to be arrested by the new President Emmerson Mnangagwa.[11] She did not lose her place in the cabinet for two weeks.[12] She spent two months in jail before she was released on bail in September 2019. Meanwhile, a former vice-president, Phelekezela Mphoko, was also arrested for alleged corruption.[13]

In February 2020, she and Ngoni Masoka, the ex-permanent secretary in the Ministry of Public Service and Social Welfare, were appealing decisions in the Zimbabwean courts related to the charges against them.[14]

References
  1. theindependent1 (16 October 2013). "Mudenda causes storm in parly". The Zimbabwe Independent. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  2. Herald, The. "President unveils new ministers". The Herald. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  3. "Zimbabwe : Robert Mugabe remanie son gouvernement et n'y fait pas rentrer sa femme, Grace – Jeune Afrique". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). 8 July 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  4. Capecchi, Christina; Rogers, Katie (29 July 2015). "Killer of Cecil the Lion Finds Out That He Is a Target Now, of Internet Vigilantism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  5. "'What lion?' Zimbabweans ask, amid global Cecil circus". Reuters. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  6. "LATEST: Mugabe's nephew Zhuwao 'arrested & detained' by army". iHarare. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  7. "Zhuwao : Civil Servants To Get Bonuses". NewsdzeZimbabwe. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  8. "Mnangagwa Appoints Coup Plotters to Key Ministries in Recycled Mugabe Cabinet". VOA. December 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  9. "State jobs on the line in Zimbabwe? | IOL Business Report". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  10. Madzianike, Nyore (6 August 2019). "Zimbabwe: Fraud, Money Laundering Charges for Mupfumira". The Herald. All Africa. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  11. Nyathi, Kitsepile (25 July 2019). "Zimbabwe anti-graft authority arrests Tourism minister Mupfumira". The East African. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  12. Mhetu, Idah. "Zimbabwe: Mnangagwa Fires Mupfumira". All Africa. New Zimbabwean. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  13. "Zimbabwe ex-tourism minister facing graft charges freed on bail". News24. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  14. "JUST IN: Mupfumira contests magistrate's decision". Zimbabwe Situation. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
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