Image copyright AFP Image caption If Robert Mugabe goes before the committee, it would be his first public appearance since his resignation

Zimbabwe's parliament has summoned former President Robert Mugabe to give evidence about a claim he made about huge-scale diamond theft.

Mr Mugabe accused foreign mining firms of "swindling" and "smuggling" in an interview on state-run TV in 2016.

"The companies have virtually robbed us of our wealth," he said, adding that the treasury had seen little of about $15bn (£11bn) they had earned.

It is not clear if the 94-year-old will agree to appear before the committee.

He was forced to resign last December in the wake of a military takeover, and still has the privileges of a former head of state.

Meanwhile, the UK has said it would "strongly support" Zimbabwe's return to the Commonwealth group of nations, following talks in London between UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and his Zimbabwean counterpart Sibusiso Moyo.

Gen Moyo is the man who announced the military takeover in November, which led to Mr Mugabe's resignation.

Although Mr Johnson said that Zimbabwe still had to ensure that this year's elections were free and fair, his statement was condemned by opposition politician David Coltart, who said he was "appalled".

Zimbabwe left the Commonwealth in 2003 after it was criticised for human rights abuses under Mr Mugabe.

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Will Mr Mugabe appear before parliament?

During his last decade in office, several companies, including the army, police and a Chinese state company, were given vast tracts of concessions to mine diamonds at the rich Marange fields in the east of the country.

Themba Mliswa, who heads parliament's mining committee, told Zimbabwe's state-run Herald paper that the panel had interviewed former Marange mining executives as well as the police, army and intelligence services.

He said the committee had resolved to invite the former president "to explain the disappearance of the $15bn worth of diamonds".

"We have set 9 May as the date on which he will give evidence."

However, last month Mr Mugabe said he was not clear where the figure of $15bn had come from.

"I was given that by some officials, that figure had been circulating around, but really it was not confirmed," he told the privately-owned Zimbabwe Independent.

If Mr Mugabe does appear before the committee, it would be his first public appearance since his resignation.

Marange diamonds: A controversial history

In 2006, more than 20,000 illegal diggers descended on the Marange fields.

Reports followed of large-scale killings by Zimbabwe's security forces to stop the smuggling, prompting Marange diamonds to be banned in 2009.

A Panorama investigation found in 2011 that in the Marange fields, the police and military recruited civilians to illegally dig for diamonds for them.

In 2012 a campaign group said at least $2bn worth of diamonds had been stolen from the Marange fields. Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) said the "theft" had enriched Zimbabwean officials, international gem dealers and criminals.</s>A Zimbabwe parliament committee has summoned former president Robert Mugabe to give evidence on May 9 over diamond corruption costing billions of dollars, underlining his fall from power after 37 years of autocratic rule.

Mugabe, now 94, ruled Zimbabwe from 1980 until he was ousted last year when the military took over briefly and his once-loyal ZANU-PF party turned against him.

“We have set May 9 as the date on which he will give evidence,” Temba Mliswa, the mines and energy parliament committee chairman, told Friday’s state-owned Herald newspaper.

“We met today (Thursday) as a committee and resolved that we invite the former president Mr Mugabe to our committee to explain the disappearance of $15 billion worth of diamonds,” said Mliswa, an independent MP.

The lawmakers plan to question Mugabe over his 2016 claim that the country had lost $15 billion (12 billion euros at current rates) due to corruption and foreign exploitation in the diamond sector.

It was unclear whether Mugabe, who is in frail health, would agree to appear before the committee or make moves to avoid a potential grilling.

Mugabe — whose own regime was accused of siphoning off diamond profits — has described his ousting as a coup.

He was replaced by his former deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, a veteran loyalist in the ZANU-PF party who was backed by senior military officers.

Mugabe, who has not been seen in public since his fall, exercised ruthless control over parliament, security forces and the country’s mineral resources for decades.

The parliamentary committee has already summoned former ministers, ex-police chiefs and heads of several government department.

Zimbabwe discovered alluvial diamonds in Chiadzwa, in the east of the country, over 10 years ago, and rights groups have accused security forces of using brutal methods to control the scattered deposits.

Amid allegations of massive looting, Zimbabwe allowed several diamond companies companies to mine the area – most of them as joint ventures between the government and Chinese firms.

Zimbabwe is due to hold elections in July or August, the first since Mugabe was unseated, with the ZANU-PF widely predicted to retain power.

Mnangagwa has vowed to hold a fair vote, and to tackle graft as he tries to revive the shattered economy by attracting foreign investment and re-building many international ties cut under Mugabe’s regime.</s>HARARE: A Zimbabwe parliament committee has summoned former president Robert Mugabe to give evidence on May 9 over diamond corruption costing billions of dollars, underlining his dramatic fall from power after 37 years of autocratic rule. “We have set May 9 as the date on which he will give evidence,” Temba Mliswa, the mines and energy parliament committee chairman, told the state-owned Herald newspaper. “We met today (Thursday) as a committee and resolved that we invite the former president Mr. Mugabe to our committee to explain the disappearance of $15 billion worth of diamonds,” said Mliswa. The lawmakers plan to question Mugabe over his 2016 claim that the country had lost the $15 billion sum due to corruption and foreign exploitation in the diamond sector. It was unclear whether Mugabe, who is in frail health, was likely to agree to appear before the committee or to make moves to avoid a potential grilling.</s>A Zimbabwe parliament committee has summoned former president Robert Mugabe to give evidence on May 9 over diamond corruption costing billions of dollars, underlining his dramatic fall from power after 37 years of autocratic rule.

Mugabe, now 94, ruled Zimbabwe from 1980 until he was ousted last year when the military took over briefly and his once-loyal ZANU-PF party lawmakers turned against him.

“We have set May 9 as the date on which he will give evidence,” Temba Mliswa, the mines and energy parliament committee chairman, told the state-owned Herald newspaper.

“We met today (Thursday) as a committee and resolved that we invite the former president Mr Mugabe to our committee to explain the disappearance of $15 billion worth of diamonds,” said Mliswa, an independent MP.

The lawmakers plan to question Mugabe over his 2016 claim that the country had lost the $15 billion sum due to corruption and foreign exploitation in the diamond sector.

It was unclear whether Mugabe, who is in frail health, was likely to agree to appear before the committee or to make moves to avoid a potential grilling.

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This post was syndicated from The Guardian Nigeria Newspaper – Nigeria and World News. Click here to read the full text on the original website.</s>File: President Robert Mugabe has been called to explain himself to Parliament on 9 May. Photo: REUTERS / Siphiwe Sibeko

HARARE - A Zimbabwe parliament committee has summoned former president Robert Mugabe to give evidence to a probe into diamond corruption, an MP told state media on Friday.

"We have set May 9 as the date on which he will give evidence," Temba Mliswa, the mines and energy parliament committee chairman, told the state-owned The Herald newspaper.

The newspaper says Mugabe is being asked to explain a claim he made in February 2016 that the country could have been prejudiced of more than $15-billion in unrealised diamond revenue from Chiadzwa.</s>A Zimbabwe parliament committee has summoned former president Robert Mugabe to give evidence on May 9 over diamond corruption costing billions of dollars, underlining his dramatic fall from power after 37 years of autocratic rule.

Mugabe, now 94, ruled Zimbabwe from 1980 until he was ousted last year when the military took over briefly and his once-loyal ZANU-PF party lawmakers turned against him.

"We have set May 9 as the date on which he will give evidence," Temba Mliswa, the mines and energy parliament committee chairman, told the state-owned Herald newspaper.</s>Former Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe has been summoned to appear before a parliamentary committee on May 9 to shed light on missing diamonds worth more than US$15 billion that allegedly disappeared during his reign, a lawmaker said on Friday.Member of Parliament Themba Mliswa told the state-run Herald daily that the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Mines and Mining Development that he chairs wants Mugabe to explain a claim he made in February 2016 that the country could have been prejudiced of more than US$15 billion in unrealised diamond revenue from the Chiadzwa mining fields.

Mliswa said his committee wants Mugabe to explain how the leakages occurred or how he came about the figure.

There have been allegations of massive smuggling of minerals from Zimbabwe over the past two decades, with most of the crimes said to be linked to politicians, the military and other politically connected individuals.

The paper said the parliamentary committee has also invited former Vice President Joice Mujuru to explain reports linking her to diamond mining in the area.

Former police commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri, who was also expected to testify, has written to the committee to say he is unable to attend the hearings as he is receiving medical treatment outside the country.</s>Zimbabwe’s parliament has ordered former leader Robert Mugabe to answer questions next month about whether the state was deprived of $15 billion in diamond revenue, a legislator said on Friday.

It will be Mugabe’s first public appearance since last November when the army deposed him in a de facto coup after nearly four decades in power and he was replaced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

The 94-year-old gave his first television interview last month since he lost power and said Mnangagwa had betrayed him and assumed the presidency illegally.

Mugabe said in March 2016 the country was robbed of wealth by diamond companies including joint ventures between Chinese companies and the army, police and intelligence services whose operations were shielded from public scrutiny.

Specifically, he said Zimbabwe lost $15 billion in revenue from Marange gem fields, more than 400 km (250 miles) east of the capital. He expelled those firms last year and replaced them with a state-owned diamond company.

Themba Mliswa who heads parliament’s mining committee said the panel had interviewed former Marange mining executives as well as the police, army and intelligence services and now wanted to talk to Mugabe.

“The committee resolved that the former president should appear on 9 May so that he can explain the disappearance of the $15 billion,” Mliswa said.

“This is not political persecution. After gathering all evidence, it was the committee’s view that we call the former Head of State and government.”

The state diamond company was set to auction 1.56 million carats of diamonds from Marange in March and April, the first time since March 2017 it has held such sales.

In 2006, over 20,000 illegal diggers descended on the Marange fields, prompting the government to deploy the army to stop panning and smuggling. Rights groups say security forces committed atrocities during their crackdown.

Diamond watchdog Partnership Africa Canada said in 2012 at least $2 billion of Marange diamonds were stolen by people linked to Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party. The government denied the charge.</s>Zimbabwe's parliament has summoned former President Robert Mugabe to give evidence about a claim he made about huge-scale diamond theft.

Mr Mugabe accused foreign mining firms of "swindling" and "smuggling" in an interview on state-run TV in 2016.

"The companies have virtually robbed us of our wealth," he said, adding the treasury had seen little of about $15bn (£11bn) they had earned.

It is not clear if the 94-year-old will agree to appear before the committee.

He was forced to resign last December in the wake of a military takeover, and still has the privileges of a former head of state.
• Africa Live: More on this and other stories

During his last decade in office, several companies, including the army, police and a Chinese state company, were given vast tracts of concessions to mine diamonds at the rich Marange fields in the east of the country.

Themba Mliswa, who heads parliament's mining committee, told Zimbabwe's state-run Herald paper that the panel had interviewed former Marange mining executives as well as the police, army and intelligence services.

He said the committee had resolved to invite the former president "to explain the disappearance of the $15bn worth of diamonds".

"We have set 9 May as the date on which he will give evidence."

However, last month Mr Mugabe said he was not clear where the figure of $15bn had come from.

"I was given that by some officials, that figure had been circulating around, but really it was not confirmed," he told the privately-owned Zimbabwe Independent.

In 2006, more than 20,000 illegal diggers descended on the Marange fields.

Reports followed of large-scale killings by Zimbabwe's security forces to stop the smuggling, prompting Marange diamonds to be banned in 2009.

A Panorama investigation found in 2011 that in the Marange fields, the police and military recruited civilians to illegally dig for diamonds for them.

In 2012 a campaign group said at least $2bn worth of diamonds had been stolen from the Marange fields. Partnership Africa Canada (PAC) said the "theft" had enriched Zimbabwean officials, international gem dealers and criminals.

If Mr Mugabe does appear before the committee, it will be his first public appearance since his resignation.</s>A Zimbabwean parliamentary committee is summoning former leader Robert Mugabe to appear before it over alleged diamond looting during his rule.

Mugabe, who resigned in November following a military intervention, has said $15 billion worth of diamonds were looted from fields in the country’s east. He later said he had no basis for that figure.

But parliamentary committee chairman Temba Mliswa tells The Associated Press the 94-year-old still should appear on May 9 to explain his statements.

This is the first time a public institution has summoned Mugabe to account for the alleged looting. Zimbabwe security agencies were involved in the mining with Chinese firms until the government cancelled all diamond mining licenses there in 2016.

Mliswa says parliament “very soon” will dispatch an official letter for Mugabe to attend.
The Parliament of Zimbabwe summons ex-President Robert Mugabe over an alleged theft of diamonds.