THE military seized various properties belonging to mega
rich Omani businessman Thamer al Shanfari as a result of a fallout emanating
from a diamond mining operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) when
Zimbabwe participated in the Great Lakes War in 1998, the Zimbabwe Independent
can report.
The properties at the centre of the court battle are stand
numbers 98, 99, 100 and 101 Glen Lorne Township 8 of Lot 40A Glen Lorne
Township 8 of Lot 40A Glen Lorne.
Shanfari, who was the former chairperson of Oryx Natural
Resources, a joint venture firm set up by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) and
investors from Qatar and Oman to finance the military’s operations in the DRC
through proceeds from diamond mining operations, this month filed a High court
application seeking an order for placement of a caveat over his four immovable
properties which the Defence ministry was in the process of grabbing.
The Omani national is being represented by Atherstone and
Cook Legal Practioners.Officials told the Independent the conflict dates back
to August 1998 when the Zimbabwean army participated in the DRC war to save the
Joseph Kabila administration, which was under siege from rebel forces.
During that time, Kabila sought the alliance of Zimbabwe in
the war, but could not finance Harare’s military operation.He then parcelled
out lucrative diamond reserves in Mbujumai to the Zimbabwean army to mine and
use the proceeds to support its military activities.
The army, officials said, however did not have capacity,
experience or expertise to mine diamonds resulting in it looking for partners
to form a joint venture.
The army then formed a JV company called Oryx, that was 30%
owned by a military mining company Osleg — which was the Operation Sovereign
Legacy and 70% owned by Omani and Qatar investors.
Oryx appointed Shanfari the chair of the company but he
ended up operating like an executive chairperson.“During the entity’s
operations in DRC, Shanfari would withdraw huge sums of money ranging between
US$100 000 and US$1 million from Oryx Natural Resources. He would convert the
US dollars to Congolese francs in Kinshasa before flying to Kigali, Rwanda
where he would offload the francs to the Rwandan army,” a senior security
official said.
“The Rwandan army needed Congolese francs to pay soldiers
fighting in the DRC. Rwanda was literally at war with Zimbabwe as they were
backing different sides.
“Shanfari made a lot of money through arbitrage because of
exchange rate variations. He did not care about loyalties as he was chasing
money, never mind the fact that the two sides were fighting.”
The officials revealed Shanfari woud visit European
capitals, Dubai and Oman frequently to spend money without giving shareholders
any dividends.
His double-dealings were exposed after he fell out with two
former MI6 agents who were part of his security after a fallout over payment.
The army then declared him a security threat.
Filing the High court application, Shanfari said he was
compelled to approach the courts, given the enormous power of the millitary.“I
(Shanfari) am also the primary beneficiary in the above mentioned properties in
terms of the notarial deed of donation and trust (Ref 339) … in this instance I
do have a clear caveatable interest, and this application is motivated by my
reasonable apprehension that the respondents (Defence minister Oppah
Muchinguri-Kashiri and others) are about to completely dispossess me of my
properties and given the political and state power that is wielded by some of
the respondents, the prejudice I stand to suffer if I do not act now, could be
irreversible and the respondents have failed or refused to resolve my dispute
with them amicably,” Shanfari said in his founding affidavit this month.
“I financed the construction of the main structure which
was custom-made to suit my peculiar tastes and an entertainment area. After
completion of the construction project, I resided at the subject property for
intermittent periods, but have generally lived outside Zimbabwe for many
years.”
According to Shanfari, all the documentation pertaining to
the acquisition and ownership of the properties are presently in the custody of
the Defence ministry’s lawyers. Zimbabwe Independent
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