Mines minister’s ally fingered in cyanide poaching

By Staff Reporter

HARARE – Godfrey Nyakudya, who is also Managing Director of Bulawayo based mining consumable entity Chaferfly Enterprises, has been fingered in the cyanide poaching in most parts of the country, Nehanda Radio can exclusively reveal.

Nyakudya is partner and close ally of Zimbabwe’s Deputy Minister of Mines, Fred Moyo. Currently Nyakudya is reported to be in hiding at a rented house near the University of Zimbabwe main campus as he dodges the long arm of the law.

Nyakudya founder of Chaferfly Enterprises located at 19 Woolwich Road, Thorngrove, Bulawayo, is wanted in connection with the manner in which he dealt with the poisonous substance, cyanide, used during the chemical poaching in Zimbabwe since 2013.

More than 300 elephants were killed in the Hwange National Park, between 2013 and 2014 by unknown assailants and 100 more died of cyanide poisoning across the country this year.

Whilst Nyakudya’s cyanide dealings are well known, Minister of Environment, Oppah Muchinguri says poachers from countries such as Zambia are taking advantage of low water levels crossing the mighty Zambezi River, into sanctuaries along the borders.

“What I can say is that we have poachers crossing the Zambezi River into Hwange National Park through shallow points due to the low levels of water in the river. Our national parks are not well equipped making difficult for us to know where and when this takes place,” Muchinguri said recently.

The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) a government department under the Environment Ministry, is the only organisation mandated with the regulation of highly toxic substances like cyanide in Zimbabwe.

In Zimbabwe the most common form of cyanide is sodium cyanide used by artisanal/small scale miners in gold processing in a manner consistent with the International Cyanide Management Code.

“The Environmental Management Act (20:27) as read with Statutory Instrument 12 of 2007, Hazardous Substances, Pesticides and Toxic Substances Regulations state that, any person who imports, transports, stores or sells any hazardous substance must have a licence for each purpose.

Cyanide is a hazardous substance, and legislation requires it to be transported, handled and disposed of by fully trained personnel in certified storage containers,” the EMA statement says.

However Nyakudya is alleged to have imported cyanide from South Africa without proper documents. He transported and handled the dangerous substance in a manner that raised a lot of eyebrows.

CYANIDE HANDLING

According to sources at Chaferfly Enterprises, the company was dealing in mining consumables but did not have a permit to deal with cyanide.

“Cyanide is supposed to be transported and stored in sealed containers but most of the cyanide that Godfrey Nyakudya, imported from South Africa was not properly sealed and usually transported in ventilation pipes together with a number of mining parts in huge containers,” Shepherd Ndlovu (not actual name) revealed.

Ndlovu further stated that each time a cyanide consignment was delivered it would be offloaded at night.

“I have always been very suspicious of the way the company was dealing with cyanide until I started hearing stories of Godfrey Nyakudya’s relationship with Fred Moyo, Mines Deputy Minister and a close friend of Emerson Mnangagwa,” Ndlovu said.

Another employee revealed that in the stores department no clear papers would show how and where cyanide was being sold to.

“The only papers I dealt with involved 4 tonnes of cyanide that was sold to How Mine, but to my surprise my friends who were truck drivers told me some cyanide was transported to Hwange. From my own knowledge Hwange Coal Company does not require cyanide as they are into coal mining and not gold mining,” Sibusiso Ncube (not real name) stated.

Sibusiso stated that cyanide would just go out of stock without proper dispatch notes. The Chaferfly employee revealed that, direct payments would be made to ICL in South Africa before the transportation of cyanide.

The payments would be done through Godfrey Nyakudya’s South African company called Royal Square Investments in Polokwane. This company was at the address 342CC, 72 Forsfaat Street, Laboria, Polokwane in South Africa.

Meanwhile Nyakudya denied any knowledge of cyanide dealing at Chaferfly Enterprises.

“There could have been a mix up with regards how you received that information but what I can say is that there is a time when one of our partners had some challenges and could not import cyanide directly into the country and that’s the only time when we chipped in to assist,” Godfrey Nyakudya responded on his Econet mobile number.

It was difficult to get hold of Nyakudya initially as the businessman is accused of changing phone numbers in a disguise. Known contact numbers for Nyakudya have changed almost nearly five times until his company started sinking and he changed them again.

Meanwhile a source at Beitbridge Border post stated that cyanide would be transported into Zimbabwe clandestinely and cleared by a company called Maudrey Enterprises owned by Maud Chauke and Audrey Chauke.

“Initially when he started, was doing it as payback to Fred Moyo for saving him from not going to prison because of a RioZim fraud. However later on Godfrey Nyakudya started importing large quantities of cyanide whose quantities remain questionable,” a source at the Beitbridge Border Post revealed.

This tallies with Nyakudya saying he was importing cyanide on behalf of a partner.

DEATH OF EMPLOYEES 

All the sources that decided to speak did so on condition of anonymity fearing for their lives because of what they perceived as a planned car accident that killed three workers in 2013.

Nyakudya would go to the border with driver Butholezwe Ndlovu and two assistants each time his Cyanide was coming, to see Audrey Chauke and then the driver and two assistants would pick the trucks with the chemicals to Bulawayo from the border.

Realising the danger involved in 2013, Nyakudya is accused of having caused Butholezwe Ndlovu and his assistants death. Butholezwe was taken to Botswana together with his assistants. This is because a shipment of Cyanide was coming through Botswana, as there were now investigations at the Beitbridge Border Post.

Butholezwe was not aware he was carrying cyanide as he thought it was metals, pumps and other mining consumables. The Cyanide was hidden and staffed in the ventilation pipes in the truck.

At the border Butholezwe noticed the material had a safe passage and no searches were done but only realised he was carrying cyanide upon arrival at the factory in Bulawayo. It was late at night and already there were buyers waiting to pick the consignment.

Instead of Butholezwe Ndlovu leaving the factory with the truck, as was the norm each time he went home, he was asked together with his assistants to use a different vehicle that was already parked outside the company premises.

On that night Butholezwe made a call to his brother that he had noticed something at the company but apparently the car he had been given to take home was having brake problems. Before the three reached home their car got involved in a fatal accident due to brake failure and all the three died on the spot.

“I realised the man we were dealing with was ruthless as there was talk at work he was involved in the car accident. In actual fact Godfrey Nyakudya is a ruthless man and would do anything for money,” Sibusiso Ncube revealed.

RELATIONSHIP

Fred Moyo was appointed Deputy Minister of Mines in 2013.

He is ex-Hwange Colliery Company (HCC) managing director and at one time was arrested over an alleged $2 million fraud at Oryx Mine (Private) Limited (Oryx).

Moyo, a majority shareholder in Lennox Mine, also faced a possible rap from environmental authorities in 2012, over an alleged chemical leak at his Zvishavane-based gold mine.

Because of this Moyo who was permitted to use Cyanide at his gold mines was no longer able to buy Cyanide directly from the suppliers hence the coming in of Godfrey Nyakudya.

However Moyo was not formerly charged, and was promoted to become Deputy Minister of Mines in 2013, due to his links with Vice President Emerson Mnangagwa and through Obert Moyo who is former Mines Minister but now Economic Investment in the President’s Office.

In 2011 Godfrey Nyakudya was arrested for allegedly defrauding Rio Zimbabwe nearly $364 000 together with RioZim workers, Emmerson Mungwariri and Jeriphanos Tondori but only the latter were convicted and Godfrey was acquitted because of his alleged relationship with Fred Moyo.

Later on Nyakudya offered to assist build a house at Fred Moyo’s rural home in Zvishavane. The house was only completed in 2013 and most of the building material was imported from South Africa.

Employees saw a truckload of an assortment of trusses and tiles headed for Fred Moyo’s rural home, although by that time they were not so sure why Nyakudya was buying building material for Fred Moyo.

Because of Godfrey Nyakudya’s relationship with Obert Mpofu and Fred Moyo, he was the leading sponsor of the Memorial Golf Tournament in Hwange in memory of the 1970s mine accident.

CRIMINAL CONDUCT

Nyakudya is allegedly wanted for fraud in South Africa committed before the closure of his Royal Square Investments.

Currently he is wanted for failure to return one of the South African vehicles he alleged to be hiding at his home in Harare.

The cars had South African number plates, TATE-ASHE L and MANUWASHE L.

In February 2014 Nyakudya relocated to Harare as most of his company property was now being attached by the High Court due to failure to pay workers.

BancABC attached most of the property at 109 Plumtree Road, Donnington factory leading to Nyakudya running away from Bulawayo to Harare.

Nyakudya is alleged to have defrauded institutions both in Zimbabwe and South Africa. He is now sending his brother, a failed businessman known as AG to pick whatever he wants from SA and any property he wants in Bulawayo.

Apart from a number of pending cases that are with the labour court on unpaid salaries dating back to 2012, Nyakudya is facing more cases involving unpaid debts some of which are criminal.

He is wanted for defrauding BankABC, ZB Bank, ZMDC Sabi and Gold Mines, Mbada Diamonds, Renaissance Bank, Metmar Zimbabwe, Bulawayo City, Knight Frank and unpaid salaries. Nehanda Radio (Special Investigations Department)