BEITBRIDGE Customs and Excise officers over the weekend
defied Vice-President Kembo Mohadi’s instruction to vacate a bonded vehicle
transit shed he operates together with some businessmen and move to a new shed.
Mohadi, who jointly operates MOOMU trading as Malindi
Transit Shed with Oscar Chiromo and one Mushipe, wants out of the business,
where the two provided the shop the Vice-President rents as the licence holder.
He has built his own place at the late Vice-President
Joshua Nkomo’s Stand 411 in the border town, where he plans to relocate the
business under a new arrangement.
Mushipe and Chiromo are said to be refusing his new
arrangement, arguing they had invested thousands and will not recover if Mohadi
abandons them before expiry of the agreed six-year period.
At the weekend, he had fights on two fronts — Mohadi
stripped directorship from Chiromo, Mushipe and his children from his failed
marriage with Senator Tambudzani Mohadi in favour of a new team, including his
son Bruce, currently in trouble with the law on allegations of robbery.
Mohadi does not want anything to do with any member of his
family, including Tambudzani, whom he threatened to beat up in full view of the
police on Saturday.
Moomu had a contract with Chiromo and Mushipe, but Mohadi
is said to have brought a court order stopping operations at Malindi saying the
contract was over.
Malindi Transit Shed handles, on behalf of Customs and
Excise, imported pre-owned vehicles prior to formalities like duty payment and
temporary registration.
The arrangement was to decongest the border post, which
handles hundreds of imported pre-owned vehicles weekly.
According to a source, Mohadi on Friday dispatched
plainclothes police from the Beitbridge police to the transit shed.
“Plainclothes policemen came on Friday and ordered all operations
to stop and directed customs officers to relocate to his new site. He selected
staff and said he only wanted people from Beitbridge working at his new site,”
a source at Malindi Transit Shed told Southern Eye yesterday.
“He personally addressed workers and said he was closing
down the site. All Customs officers were ordered to leave for the new site, but
they defied his order and continued to
work because they do not take instructions from him.”
A senior Customs and Excise official yesterday said officers
had not left because the new site had not been inspected and no installations
were in place.
“Everything is under control and officers are still at
Malindi Transit Shed which has installations. We have not moved to a new site
although we confirm such a development was there,” the official said.
A notice was, however, pasted at all gates indicating that
they were moving office. Mohadi also removed air conditioners reportedly installed
by Chiromo and Mushipe, which he directed that they be installed at his new
site.
After closing Malindi Transit Shed, Mohadi deployed police
to the border post to direct drivers of vehicle carriers from South Africa to
drop cars at his new site, which drivers ignored.
“Instead, the drivers of vehicle carriers took cars to
Manica Transit Shed. They said clients did not want their cars taken to where
Mohadi was,” the source said.
One of Mohadi’s daughters, director of Moomu, said she was
surprised to hear she had resigned.
“I have not resigned, but I heard there was a letter of my
resignation signed by me. I am not aware of that,” she told NewsDay, preferring
not to be
named.
Chiromo and Mushipe were both not available for comment,
but were said to have gone to seek legal protection.
Efforts to get a comment from the VP hit a brick wall, as
his phone went unanswered yesterday. Newsday
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