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Zimbabwe: first lady cited in gold trafficking case

2020-10-30T22:11:54.685Z


The name of the Zimbabwean president's wife was cited on Friday in a gold smuggling case after the arrest earlier this week of a mining executive accused of attempting to illegally remove six kilograms of the precious metal from destination of Dubai. President Emmerson Mnangagwa's wife Auxillia and their son Collins have been cited as the alleged owners of the gold found in the luggage of Henriett


The name of the Zimbabwean president's wife was cited on Friday in a gold smuggling case after the arrest earlier this week of a mining executive accused of attempting to illegally remove six kilograms of the precious metal from destination of Dubai.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa's wife Auxillia and their son Collins have been cited as the alleged owners of the gold found in the luggage of Henrietta Rushwaya, who was arrested at the main Harare airport on Monday, according to court documents to which the 'AFP had access.

Ms Rushwaya, who heads the Zimbabwe Miners Federation, and six others are indicted in the case.

Read also: Annual inflation in Zimbabwe exceeds 830% in July

Two intelligence agents allegedly allowed the leader to escape security checks, by passing her luggage through the lane reserved for diplomats.

"

All those who pass through the diplomatic baggage hold are granted the possibility of not being subjected to controls,

" says the prosecution in these documents.

But civil aviation officials intercepted the traveler and forced her through regular checks, leading to the discovery of gold in her carry-on baggage.

It was during his interrogation and that of the intelligence agents accompanying him that the name of the president's wife was mentioned.

"

Seeing that the three had been intercepted,

" a fourth defendant, an employee of Ms. Rushwaya's company, "

explained to police and immigration officers that the gold belonged to the first lady,

" said the 'charge.

Read also: Zimbabwe: 60% of the population will need food aid by the end of 2020

The suspects then argued that the president's son was the one seeking to export gold to Dubai.

"

The defendants affirmed this knowing full well that it was false, to seek to instill fear and facilitate the exit from the country of this gold

", adds the prosecution.

Prosecutor Garudzo Siyadhuma described the case as "

a classic example of how organized crime

operates

."

The network is much larger

,” he added during a hearing this week.

This case comes as the authorities seek to neutralize a significant smuggling of gold in the country, estimated at around 100 million dollars per month.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-10-30

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