HARARE – Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) president Henrietta Rushwaya has been arrested for allegedly duping Indian investors, NV Group of US$1 million in a botched mining transaction.
Rushwaya who escaped jail time last November after being ordered to pay a fine of US$5,000 after being found guilty of attempting to smuggle 6kgs of gold to Dubai through the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, is accused of attempting to sell three mines she does not own to investors based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest.
“We can confirm that Henrietta Rushwaya is assisting police with investigations following a report made by a certain complainant in relation to a purported mining transaction. So far investigations are in progress and these are the details we can release as of now,” he said.
During trial in the case she was accused of attempting to smuggle 6kg of gold, Rushwaya denied claims that she intended to commit the crime, arguing that she had picked a wrong bag.
She was, however, ordered to pay a US$5 000 fine (or 12 months) after the State proved that she had indeed committed the crime.
Rushwaya featured in Al Jazeera’s Gold Mafia series, which exposed how Zimbabwe’s gold was being smuggled out of the by top government officials.
Official estimates cited by Al Jazeera indicate that illicit trade in gold has long been costing Zimbabwe around US$100 million every month.
Rushwaya is President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s niece. There have been suspicions that she uses her proximity to the President as a launch-pad to commit crimes with impunity.
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