Henrietta Rushwaya, the President of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation and a relative of President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, has been convicted for attempting to smuggle 6kg of gold, valued at over $300,000, from the country to Dubai via the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
Rushwaya’s conviction stems from an undercover investigation by Al Jazeera journalists.
They unveiled an illicit gold trade network that smuggled vast amounts of the precious metal from Zimbabwe to the United Arab Emirates employing dormant companies, counterfeit invoices, and corrupt officials.
Rushwaya was arrested in 2020 when she was caught at the Harare Airport with the gold.
She claimed she had mistakenly picked up the wrong bag, but she was charged with presenting an invalid export license.
An official from the National Prosecuting Authority declared, “The President of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation, Henrietta Rushwaya, has been convicted of smuggling 6kg of gold. Rushwaya, who appeared in the Anti-Corruption Court at the High Court of Harare, was caught red-handed at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport while smuggling gold valued at USD 333,042.28 out of the country to Dubai. She has been detained in custody pending sentencing.”
Commenting on the conviction, Rushwaya’s lawyer stated, “We are deeply disappointed by the court’s verdict, and we will be considering an appeal.” The lawyer added, “Our client maintains her innocence and continues to assert that she mistakenly took the wrong bag that contained the gold. We believe the evidence was insufficient to support her conviction.”
Rushwaya has been remanded into custody and is awaiting sentencing, scheduled for November 10.
Two Central Intelligence Operatives, Stephen Tserai and Raphios Mufandauya, who were arrested in connection with the case, have been acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
Also, some months after Rushwaya was arraigned, her former aide and driver Tashinga Nyasha Masinire was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa, after being found with 23 pieces of gold worth R11m (US$783 000).
He was later granted R100 000 bail at Kempton Park Regional Court in Joburg.
