Zimbabwe health minister Obadiah Moyo booted after Covid-19 tender arrest

Zimbabwean president Emmerson Mnangagwa has fired his health minister at the centre of a $60m (about R1bn) Covid-19 supplies deal.

Obadiah Moyo, known as “DJ Mighty Biscuit” in Harare’s yesteryear nightclub circuit, was summarily dismissed for “conduct inappropriate for a government minister”.

Moyo was arrested last month and accused of abuse of office. He allegedly corruptly issued $60m in tenders to supply Covid-19 test kits and medical equipment to obscure companies linked to the political elite. If found guilty, he could face up to 15 years in jail. He was granted bail of $2,000 (about R34,320).

Healthcare workers in Zimbabwe have been on strike intermittently this year as inflation depletes their salaries.

AFP quoted a medical worker as saying an average nurse's salary has eroded from $800 (about R13,733) in 2008 to the equivalent of $35 (about R600) now.