Zimbabwe Cricket has imposed a five-year ban on a 'fan' for approaching fast bowler Luke Jongwe to commit spot-fixing last year. The cricket board stated that Jongwe had immediately reported the approach by the fan to the authorities.
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The fan in question, 27-year-old Edward Walter Mupangano from Harare, had contacted fast bowler Luke Jongwe last August. He further wanted to introduce Jongwe to the Indian bookmaker behind their operation. As per Zimbabwe Cricket, the bookmaker wanted the player to bowl in a certain style during an international match in return for money.
Zimbabwe Cricket released a statement talking about the money involved in their operation which amounted to US$7000 for Luke Jongwe and US$3000 for the fan. The statement said, "Edward Walter Mupangano, a 27-year-old cricket fan from Harare who in the past also had playing trials with a local club, received the sanction after he approached Luke Jongwe on 4 August 2022 and sought to introduce him to an Indian bookmaker who allegedly wanted the player to bowl in a pre-arranged manner during an international match in return for a payment amounting to US$7000. The facilitator himself would allegedly receive US$3000 if the planned corrupt activity was successful."
The managing director of Zimbabwe Cricket, Givemore Makoni addressed the issue and talked about the steps taken by the board to avoid such instances. He also praised Luke Jongwe for taking the right steps and reporting the issue.
He said, "The integrity of ZC and the game itself is of paramount importance and, therefore, the need to maintain high levels of honesty and professionalism at all levels of the game cannot be overemphasised. Let me take this opportunity to place on record our thanks to Luke Jongwe for reporting the approach - this is what is expected of all participants in cricket if we are to keep our game clean."
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