BULAWAYO – The corruption-accused Bulawayo deputy mayor Edwin Ndlovu barricaded himself inside his private office to avoid arrest, forcing Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) investigators to call a locksmith, a court heard on Monday.

Ndlovu, 55, the ward 8 councillor, appeared in court facing extortion charges alongside ward 28 councillor Ntandoyenkosi Ndlovu and former ward 22 councillor Alderman Rodney Jele.

They are accused of soliciting a US$52,000 bribe from a company awarded a development lease to build a hotel in 2023 after allegedly threatening to have the lease cancelled.

The two serving councillors opposed being placed on remand, arguing that there was no evidence linking them to the alleged offence. They asked magistrate Isheunesu Matova to dismiss the charges before plea.

Matova is expected to rule on the application on Tuesday.

Prosecutor Milton Moyo told the court that when ZACC investigators went to arrest deputy mayor Ndlovu at his private business, Gracious Driving School, he locked himself inside.

The investigators were forced to hire a locksmith to gain entry, Moyo said.

He argued that Ndlovu’s conduct was inconsistent with that of an innocent person as he opposed the defence application for the accused not to be placed on remand.

The National Prosecuting Authority alleges that the three targeted businessman Thulani Mthuli Matshazi, who was awarded a long-term lease by the council in 2023 through his company, Mkhuze Global Investments, to develop a Hilton Hotel franchise.

No development has taken place at the site.

The prosecution alleges that during a meeting arranged by Jele at a lodge in Matsheumhlope on August 14, the three told Matshazi that another investor was prepared to pay US$52,000 to have his lease cancelled and take over the site.

Matshazi could retain the lease only by matching the offer, he was allegedly told.

The prosecution further alleges that the two councillors sat on the council’s subcommittee on the allocation of stands and premises for development and would use their positions to recommend cancellation of the lease at a committee meeting scheduled for August 19 if Matshazi failed to pay.

They would then allegedly use their influence at the next full council meeting in September to ensure the committee’s recommendation was adopted.

Matshazi reported the matter to ZACC on August 21, resulting in a trap being set.

On August 22, US$5,000 was allegedly handed to Jele at Matshazi’s house.

Jele was arrested while allegedly counting the money, and the trap cash was recovered, according to the prosecution.

Jele’s lawyer, Prince Butshe Dube, raised complaints about the conduct of investigators.

He told the court that his client had been denied access to his lawyer when asked to provide a statement and was eventually made to sign a document admitting to things he had not done.

Dube said Jele would challenge the affidavit on the grounds that it had been obtained under coercion.

The prosecution said it would investigate the defence complaints.

This is not the first time deputy mayor Ndlovu has been implicated in a bribery-related case.

In 2024, he was arrested alongside fellow councillor Mpumelelo Moyo after they allegedly demanded US$20,000 from a company that had applied for a lease on a 5.6-hectare piece of land in Cowdray Park to build a cement factory.

Ndlovu was accused of handing a representative of Labenmon Investments a piece of paper listing 20 councillors who allegedly needed to be paid as reward for approving the land allocation, which had previously been denied.

Ndlovu and Moyo were arrested at the home of the company’s representative, Tsitsi Mapfumo, after allegedly receiving trap money.

Ndlovu was later acquitted after the authenticity of the handwritten list was challenged.

A forensic handwriting expert called by the prosecution testified that Ndlovu had written the entire document. Mapfumo, however, testified that she had written the first part.

Magistrate Richard Ramaboea ruled: “The only evidence linking the accused to the offence was exhibit number five (handwritten list). Yet the expert concluded the whole document was written by one person.

“If we accept that, then both the accused and the witness share the same handwriting, which is impossible.”

Moyo was tried separately and convicted. He was released on bail pending appeal.