Tashinga Nyasha Masinire was arrested by members of the
Hawks’ serious organised crime investigation unit, with the assistance of
customs officials, after he landed from Zimbabwe in May 2021.
According to Hawks Gauteng spokesperson Captain Lloyd
Ramovha, Masinire's arrest came after he was subjected to a random search which
uncovered the loot.
“He ... consequently appeared in the Kempton Park
magistrate’s court where he was granted R100,000 bail,” Ramovha said.
“During the Hawks’ follow-up investigation, it emerged that
Masinire submitted representations with fabricated information in a bid to have
the case withdrawn.
“After he realised that the case presented by investigators
had no loopholes, he elected to plead guilty on February 23.”
Ramovha said his bail was revoked and on Monday the court
convicted Masinire for contravening the Customs and Excise Act. The gold bars
have been forfeited to the state.
Masinire is a former driver of Zimbabwe Miners Federation
president Henrietta Rushwaya.
Masinire’s arrest came shorlty after Rushwaya was also
nabbed at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport while attempting to
smuggle gold.
Her case is still pending at the Zimbabwean courts.
Rushwaya is one of the gold dealers with links to Zimbabwe’s
ruling elite who were recently recorded
by undercover investigative journalists from Qatar-based television
network Al Jazeera where they promised to help criminal networks to launder
money.
The dealers that also included President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s
ambassador at large Ubert Angel allegedly claimed they used the Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe to ‘clean’ the dirty money.
A documentary on the scandal was supposed to be screened on
Al Jazeera early this month, but the premiere was suspended under unclear
circumstances.
RBZ government John Mangudya distanced the central bank
from the money laundering activities. Standard
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