A Bulawayo city councillor and chairperson of a council committee has been sentenced to 12 months in prison after being convicted of demanding a US$20,000 bribe to fast-track a land deal for a cement manufacturing project.

Ward 26 councillor Mpumelelo Moyo, who chaired the city’s finance and development committee, was found guilty of soliciting the kickback from Labenmon Investments, a company seeking a 5.6-hectare plot in Cowdray Park for a cement plant.

The court heard that the company’s representative, Tsitsi Nyathi, reported the matter to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) after Moyo repeatedly pressed for the payment.

In a sting operation, Nyathi arranged a meeting at her home where plainclothes ZACC officers lay in wait. Moyo was arrested moments after he accepted the marked cash.

The verdict was handed down on Monday by Bulawayo provincial magistrate Richard Ramaboea, who sentenced Moyo to 18 months behind bars, with six months suspended on condition of good behavior.

Magistrate Ramaboea, in his ruling, condemned corruption by public officials as a grave offense that erodes public trust in local authorities.

Moyo was initially charged alongside Bulawayo’s deputy mayor, Edwin Ndlovu, but the state later dropped the charges against Ndlovu after failing to establish a direct link to the crime.