Notorious Zimbabwean gold dealer Kamlesh Pattni has President Mnangagwa’s Whatsapp number

Notorious gold gangster Kamlesh Pattni, the gold dealer who almost bankrupted Kenya in the 1990s, says he pays President Emmerson Mnangagwa every two weeks to enable him to carry out his gold and money laundering operations in Zimbabwe.

The disgraced trafficker who implicated himself on camera also told undercover Al Jazeera reporters — posing as gangsters who wanted his service to launder as much as US$1.2 billion — that he keeps Mnangagwa well-briefed about his deals and movements for protection.

Pattni fled Kenya and moved his operations to Zimbabwe and Dubai after being acquitted following his arrest in a scandal that robbed Kenya of 10 percent of its GDP in the 1990s.

The Goldenberg scam is a gold smuggling operation that robbed Kenya of US$600 million and led to charges of corruption against many members of former president President Daniel Arap Moi’s government.

He told the undercover reporters that Mnangagwa was aware of the money the gang’s laundering plans and the role he would play to facilitate the money coming into Zimbabwe. Earlier he demonstrated his closeness to the president by showing him WhatsaApp messages between the two.

He also showed reporters pictures of him with Mnangagwa and Family Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa.

“This is his number. I call him Tembo,” said Pattni. At this point one of the undercover reporters said: “You WhatsApp him?”.

“I always give him how much we have done . . . Yeah, he has to be informed. I was just writing him a message here,” responded Pattni, showing the reporters WhatsApp messages he exchanged with the president. One of the undercover reporters appeared to be stunned and asked: “This is the President’s number. Direct to the President?”

Pattni response: “Yes directly . . . I have to inform him.” Pattni, also known as Brother Paul, tells reporters they would enjoy the same protection that he gets from Mnangagwa before assuring them that the president was “100%” aware of the money laundering plan.

He said he makes payments to Mnangagwa every two weeks through his young brother, so that he sustains his operations.

“This is like the norm of life. The incentives, the fees . . . the appreciation,” said Pattni.

“Every two weeks, Swetang, my brother is there. Every fortnight, he is there at the State House. We always contribute our appreciation.”

At this point one of the reporters asks; “To Mnangagwa?” “To the King himself,” response Pattni. “When you work, you must always have the king with you. The President.

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