Patience Rashai
As the public outcry over Drax International’s alleged inflation of prices for COVID-19 medical supplies grows louder, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) has taken an active interest in the case and is seeking to arraign the firm’s frontman Delish Nguwaya
The case, which left many seething with anger, was ignited by a Drax invoice which was leaked on social media. COVID19 medical supplies that normally cost around USD2.00 per unit were charged at around USD36.00 per unit.
Drax’s exorbitant invoice comes at a time when Government is hard-pressed for resources (protective clothing and equipment) for frontline health care workers in the country.
The medical supplies issue had previously sucked in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s son, Collins, as messages on social media purported. However, a leaked WhatsApp chat with a local journalist revealed that Nguwaya fraudulently sucked in the first family’s name in order to shield himself from scrutiny.
A ZACC official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Harare Post that the anti-graft body was keen to delve into the Nguwaya case.
“As ZACC, we have taken a keen interest in the Drax saga including the local partner, Delish Nguwaya, hence our team is on the ground to unravel circumstances regarding the inflated prices of COVID-19 medical supplies,” said the ZACC source.
Nguwaya gained notoriety for rubbing the law the wrong way during his early days as a special constabulary at Mabelreign Police Station when he was arrested in 2017 on allegations of extortion and possession of cocaine.
According to information from the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), in March 2017, detectives from CID Drugs, Harare received information from Bruce Blake, a consultant at Linscort Investment Private Limited, to the effect that he was being extorted money by Nguwaya who claimed to be a CIO special agent.
This was one of Nguwaya’s dealings which later led to his arrest.
“On the 3rd of March 2017 the complainant, Bruce Blake, received a phone call from his South African business associate Justin Davenport who stated that he had been contacted by the accused person, Delish Nguwaya, who misrepresented to him that he was a CIO operative,” read part of ZRP memo.
Delish Nguwaya was later arrested after a trap was instituted by law enforcement agents.
