Minister Timba’s brothers arrested over alleged fraud

Renaissance Financial Holdings Chief Executive Officer, Patterson Timba, younger brother to MDC-T Minister of State in the Prime Ministers Officer Jameson Timba, appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday facing allegations of fraudulently attempting to take over a mining company.

Timba is jointly charged with his brother Stephenson, the chief executive of Freshco Resources. The two are accused of using fraudulent documents to seize ownership of Glencairn Mine, which has several gold claims in Kadoma. Harare provincial magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe did not ask the duo to plead to the charges and remanded them out of custody to October 12 on US$500 bail each.

There is a suggestion the charges are politically motivated with Mugabe spokesman George Charamba and Jameson Timba squaring up as bitter political rivals over the years. Charamba and Jameson Timba both went to the University of Zimbabwe at the same time despite doing different programmes.

Defence lawyer Innocent Chagonda of Atherstone and Cook argued that the matter was not criminal and should be dealt with in a civil court. The Attorney-General’s Office has previously declined to prosecute the matter and several court applications to have it prosecuted had been thrown out.