As fresh details emerge about Attorney General Johannes Tomana's alleged involvement in helping his associates escape criminal prosecution, a government minister says a full investigation should be done so that appropriate action can be taken.

Tomana, Zimbabwe's Attorney General who was controversially appointed to the top post by President Robert Mugabe in 2008, is accused of corruptly using his office to shield four individuals - former deputy minister Bright Matonga, gold dealer Patrick Mavros, Charles Nherera and Beauty Basile - from being prosecuted.

The details are contained in a dossier entitled "Johannes Tomana's Reign as Attorney General of Zimbabwe - A Trail of Questionable Decisions 2011"- which was compiled by an anti-corruption civic society group which now wants government to probe the issue.

Deputy minister of Justice Obert Gutu confirmed to the Sunday Times that the dossier would be taken to all the relevant government authorities for investigations.

"I have since gone through the report and studied it. I am making relevant consultations with stakeholders obviously with a view of taking the matter to its logical conclusion. By this I simply mean stakeholders will then have to ensure that the matter is looked into very carefully by the relevant organs of the state.

"Let me hasten to say that the matter will receive the most urgent attention mainly because of the fact that the Attorney-General's office is a critical and vital constitutional component of any democratic dispensation," said Gutu.

The anti-corruption civic organisation has already called on the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), the police and the Ministry of Justice to investigate Tomana in the same way as his predecessor, Sobuza Gula-Ndebele, was investigated and hounded out of his job three years ago over infighting within Zanu-PF.

In the dossier, the case of Nherera exposes shocking revelations that Tomana featured prominently in the life of the former Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) board chairman when he faced bribery allegations.

"Tomana participated actively in the pre-trial stage, the trial stage and the post-trial stage of the criminal proceedings against Charles Nherera. Tomana acted in a manner that cannot be described as impartial.

"In all the three stages, Tomana played the role of Charles Nherera's protector in an effort to have him absolved of all criminal liability in the face of corruption allegations that Shar levelled against him. Ultimately, Tomana succeeded in having Charles Nherera absolved by the High Court, and he used his position as Attorney General to achieve this.

"In the lifespan of Charles Nherera's saga, Tomana acted first as Nherera's legal practitioner (before he was appointed Attorney

General). He then assumed the role of Nherera's defence witness during trial.

"Finally, he assumed the role of Nherera's prosecutor when Nherera appealed against the magistrate's conviction," reads the dossier.

The report also says that Nherera was sent to jail in 2007 before Tomana was appointed Attorney General with the state fiercely fighting for the former Zupco boss to go to jail, saying he had been correctly convicted. He then served his two-year sentence at Connemara Prison in Gweru.

But in November 2009, the High Court quashed Nherera's conviction, a year after he had been released after Tomana's office had consented to the appeal that had been lodged by Nherera's lawyers.

"The consent by the Attorney General's office was drastic and inexplicable departure from the position that the Attorney General's office had maintained on Charles Nherera's issue before the courts. Charles Nherera therefore succeeded in overturning a conviction with the consent of the Attorney General's office which was now headed by his former lawyer and defence witness, Mr Johannes Tomana," the report adds.

Tomana was also in the same Zupco board in which Nherera was the chairman.

The Attorney General was not available for comment. A woman who answered the phone said he was not available and his mobile phone was also not available

By The Times (SA)