By Staff Reporter

DEFENCE and War Veterans deputy minister Victor Matemadanda says Prosecutor General Kumbirai Hodzi must be man enough to resign from his job if he saw artificial obstacles in the wake of his fight to rid the country of high-level corruption.

The fiery top government official was speaking on NewZim TV’s discussion programme, The Agenda on Monday.

Asked to share his thoughts on recent claims by the country’s top-most prosecutor that Zimbabwe’s state institutions were captured, Matemadanda spoke strongly against Hodzi’s comments.

Hodzi last month set the cat among the pigeons when he said corrupt cartels had captured key government institutions including the police and judiciary, making it difficult to tackle graft or arrest the suspects responsible for most of the high-level corruption.

“The nature of the cartels cuts across all institutions, media, legal profession, judiciary, National Prosecuting Authority and all other institutions that have mandates to fight corruption, even members of the public and business people, they are also involved in these cartels,” Hodzi said then.

His sentiments have attracted negative reaction from government which feels the country’s top prosecutor was unnecessarily putting them on the spot through the claims.

Addressing MPs in parliament last week, Vice President Kembo Mohadi dismissed Hodzi’s claims as personal opinion, adding that he needed to explain what he meant by ‘State capture’ and what is actually taking place.