Gutai Lisa-Marie Maropafadzo, a businesswoman alleged to have close ties to Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his family, is at the center of a controversy involving the seizure of coke worth US$300,000 from the Chinese-run Hwange Coal Gasification Company.
Maropafadzo, through her company Maropafadzo Energies, supposedly provides security services to the coal mining company on a cash basis.
However, authorities at Hwange Coal Gasification claim she has been forcibly entering the premises since last week and unlawfully taking coke under the pretense of a non-existent agreement.
The situation escalated on Thursday when Maropafadzo allegedly used hired thugs to raid the mine, leading to clashes with company employees and police.
Maropafadzo reportedly dropped Mnangagwa’s name and boasted of connections to the police commissioner to intimidate employees and prevent them from stopping her.
Hwange Coal Gasification company denies ever having an agreement to exchange coke for security services.
They claim Maropafadzo fraudulently obtained a court order based on this fabricated agreement, allowing her to take 700 tonnes of coke. The company also accuses Maropafadzo of damaging their security cameras to destroy evidence.
A source who declined to be named for fear of victimisation, said they were not aware of the High Court application until Maropfadzo produced the order.
“We were never given an opportunity to oppose the High Court application but we just saw the court order granting her permission to take the coke,” unnamed officials at the Hwange Coal Gasification Company told the Standard Newspaper.
“The coke she stole is estimated at a value of US$300 000,” a manager at the company said. “They damaged our CCTV (closed circuit television) cameras to destroy the evidence linking them to the crime.
“Lisa operates a security company which provides security services to our company, but we pay for the services in advance and we are currently up to date.
“When our personnel tried to stop her, she ridiculed them saying she was well connected to Matanga and the President Mnangagwa himself.”
Maropafadzo, however, maintains that a business agreement exists and claims to be scheduled for dialogue with the company and police to resolve the matter.
This incident is not the first time Maropafadzo has faced accusations of wrongdoing. In 2022, she was implicated in a US$5 million fraud scandal at the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe. Additionally, she has a past conviction for fraud in the United Kingdom.
The complex situation is likely to raise questions about the alleged involvement of powerful figures and the potential abuse of influence.
How how many trucks and how did they pass the security and did they load using fake invoices.