Nhau News Online News that is accurate, reliable, trustworthy!!
There is overwhelming evidence against suspended Zimbabwe Miners Federation president Henrietta Rushwaya and her accomplices with indications of a bigger syndicate involved, a Harare magistrate has heard.
Magistrate Ngoni Nduna heard this during submissions by detective Michael Chibaya, who is the investigating officer of the case in which Rushwaya was nabbed and found in possession of 6kg of gold in a bid to smuggle them to Dubai last Monday.
Chibaya told the court that he was opposed to granting of bail over fears that all were likely to abscond trial due to the seriousness of their offences.
He said Rushwaya is well connected having held influential positions in the country at institutions such Zifa where she made friends all over the world.
Chibaya stated that Rushwaya as the president of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation was not supposed to have been found in possession of 99.99 percent refined gold as this could only be possessed by the Fidelity Gold Refiners.
He also told the court that there was strong evidence against Ali Mohammed, the alleged owner of the gold.
“Mohammed led to the arrest of two officers for criminal abuse of office when they tried to cover up his involvement in the offence. This creates suspicion of underhand dealings that led the police not to effect an arrest on him under circumstances they should have.”
He said Mohammed is of Pakistani nationality and was in Zimbabwe on a business trip but his visa has expired, making him a flight risk and submitted that his connections spanning three continents gave him means to sustain himself outside Zimbabwe hence granting him bail was not proper.
Prosecutor Garudzo Ziyaduma also added weight stating that Zimbabwe and Pakistan had no extradition treaty and if Mohammed is released he would likely flee the country.
Mohammed’s phone was accessed by the police and it was discovered that he is the one who arranged Rushwaya’s travel arrangements to Dubai, directly linking him as an accomplice to the case.
He said his gold buying licence only allowed him to dispose of the gold at Fidelity Printers but he had generated invoices to ship the gold to Dubai, thus highlighting overwhelming evidence.
Chibaya also feared that Central Intelligence Organisation agents, Stephen Tserayi and Rafios Mufandauya, were likely to abscond if granted bail citing the links they might have around the world due to the nature of their jobs.
“Tserayi and Mufandauya are senior officers at the CIO and chances of them having connections outside the country are very high. Mohammed might give them sanctuary to abscond.”
“Tserayi and Mufandauya abused their offices to allow Rushwaya safe passage at the airport. They have no business in facilitating someone without a diplomatic passport through the VIP section. Their avoidance of the public’s route was to assure Rushwaya safe passage. Her passport had been stamped already showing her intention to leave the country without declaring what she wanted to leave the country with,” he said.
On Gift Karanda who is a member of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation, Chibaya said that chances are very high that he has made friends that can give him sanctuary abroad.
He said that Karanda with the intention to see to it that the objective of the syndicate is achieved, approached security agents who had arrested Rushwaya and name dropped First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa to instil fear into the officials.
To show that it is a huge syndicate, Karanda accessed an area at the airport that can only be accessed through issuance of a special pass but managed to penetrate security as a stranger who does not even work at the airport.
Chibaya told the court that there was overwhelming evidence against Rushwaya, Tserayi, Mufandauya and Karanda as the police had CCTV footage showing them passing through the VIP section of the airport and treating Rushwaya as a diplomat.
“Tserayi and Mufandauya manipulated security systems at the airport making it a vulnerable international border. Releasing them will give them an advantage over the airport setup that might lead it to be continuously infiltrated,” Chibaya said.
Their bail hearings were rolled over to Tuesday for continuation due to want of time. Nhau/Indaba
Chin’ono Abusing Court Procedure
Prominent journalist Hopewell Chin’ono has been accused of abusing judicial procedures by the State following his application to have magistrate Ngoni Nduna recused from presiding over his case.
Chin’ono made his application through his lawyer Advocate Taona Nyamakura stating that he held a reasonable apprehension that Nduna may be biased over his handling of the case where he is charged with inciting violence prior to the July 31 flopped anti-looting demonstrations.
Nyamakura submitted that Chin’ono feared whether proceedings of the case would meet the standard set in section 69 (1) of the Constitution and that the application was being made before the rightful court.
Prosecutor Whisper Mabhaudhi told the court that Chin’ono was abusing judicial processes by placing a similar matter in two different courts.
“Having the same application before two courts is abuse of procedure. Applicant must choose one forum to pursue his grievances as both courts can achieve his desired results.”
“He first filed his application at the High Court on September 7, 2020 and has to be patient for the High Court to give its determination.”
Chin’ono’s application for recusal had equivalent facts as that before the High Court.
“The High Court is yet to make a decision on their application. They should have withdrawn it before coming to this court with the same application.The court should deny hearing the application which is pending in a higher court.”
Mabhaudhi said that magistrates were trained lawyers with the ability to preside over matters impartially without fear or favour and the court should not entertain the application.
“The court is not obliged to recuse itself from the case as judicial officers are impartial in adjudicating cases.What applicant is seeking is a myth. He has failed to justify the court to recuse itself on a balance of probabilities,” Mabhaudhi said.
Magistrate Nduna told both parties that he will be able to make his ruling over the issue by Tuesday, November 10, 2020. Nhau/lndaba
