Rushwaya woes mount, state level two more charges against her

SUSPENDED Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) president Henrietta Rushwaya’s woes continue to mount after the state added two more charges against her.

Rushwaya was initially charged with contravening the Customs Act after she was caught trying to smuggle 6 kilogrammes of gold to Dubai via Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.

When her hearing resumed Friday, the ex-football administrator was informed she will now be facing two more charges of bribery and unlawful possession of gold.

Mounting on to her woes, Harare magistrate Ngoni Nduna upheld state’s application for withdrawal of bail consent.

Said the magistrate in his ruling Friday, “The issue before the court is whether the state can or cannot withdraw its bail consent at this stage… submissions by the state are plausible.

“To say there will be prejudice will not be enough if not substantiated.

“It was incumbent for the defence to enumerate the prejudice the accused would suffer but they chose not to do so.”

The magistrate said issues raised by the state were strong enough to sustain its application.

“I therefore found that the prayer to withdraw the concession was met. Accordingly, the prayer is granted,” ruled Nduna.

The state initially consented to bail without presenting reasons before the court.

Investigations later unearthed a huge gold smuggling syndicate forcing the state to withdraw its earlier concession.

The court was told that more people would be arrested in connection with the matter.

Shocking details regarding how Rushwaya had managed to sneak her loot emerged.

The court was told that some CCTV cameras were switched off as she was going through flight check-in formalities with the gold stashed in her hand luggage.

More people who include two CIO operatives and two senior police officers have also been arrested in connection with the scandal. -New Zimbabwe