The Member of Parliament for Chiredzi West, Darlington Chiwa (ZANU PF), who is facing charges of allegedly embezzling Constituency Development Funds (CDF), was released on bail on Monday, 19 January 2026. Bail was set at US$200.
As part of the bail conditions, Chiwa was ordered to surrender the title deeds to his house as surety and to hand over his passport pending trial. The State had opposed his release, arguing that he was likely to interfere with State witnesses.
The court also ordered Chiwa not to contact or interfere with any witnesses. He was remanded to 19 February 2026.
Chiwa is accused of misusing funds meant for community development projects, allegedly spending the money on beer, shoes, groceries, and building materials. The amount involved is the equivalent of US$50,000 in ZiG currency.
It is alleged that Chiwa, who is also chairperson of the Chiredzi West CDF, became the sole signatory to the constituency bank account after allegedly manipulating other community members into relinquishing their roles.
According to investigations by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), Parliament transferred ZWG1,332,430 (about US$50,000) into the Chiredzi West constituency account in April 2025. Chiwa allegedly moved the funds into his personal bank accounts.
He is further accused of using ZWG993,241 on personal purchases, while only ZWG270,427 was spent on constituency projects.
Prosecutors also allege that he later submitted false acquittal documents to Parliament, claiming the full amount had been used for school development projects.
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