BULAWAYO – Bulawayo deputy mayor Edwin Ndlovu and three other councillors arrested on extortion charges were granted US$500 bail each by the High Court on Wednesday.
Ndlovu, who chairs the council’s business and stands allocation committees, and councillors Ntandoyenkosi Ndlovu, Mxolisi Mahlanga and Ashton Mhlanga were granted bail by Justice Naison Chivhayo after a magistrate had earlier denied them bail.
Former councillor Alderman Rodney Jele, who is jointly charged with the four councillors, remains in custody after his earlier bail application was dismissed.
The five are accused of soliciting a US$52,000 bribe from businessman Mthuli Thulani Matshazi, who in 2023 secured a 59-year lease from the council through his company, Mkhuze Global Investment, to develop a Hilton Hotel on land near the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair.
The councillors allegedly told Matshazi that no development had taken place on the property and that another investor had offered US$52,000 to have his lease terminated.
Matshazi could retain the lease if he matched the US$52,000 offer, the councillors allegedly told him.
Matshazi subsequently reported the matter to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), whose investigators allegedly set a trap for Jele.
Jele was arrested after allegedly accepting US$5,000 in marked banknotes as part payment of the bribe, according to the State.
The councillors are represented by Sithole Law Chambers.
