Ex-Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has lost US$150,000 cash kept in a suitcase at his rural home in Zvimba, near the capital Harare, and three people including a relative who had the keys to the house have been accused of stealing.
The three suspects namely, Constancia Mugabe (the ex-president’s 50-year-old relative), Johanne Mapurisa and Saymore Nhetekwa, appeared before a Chinhoyi magistrate court on Jan. 10 and were granted US$2,000 bail each to return to court on Jan. 24, reports local media.
The prosecution said a fourth suspect, Andrew Mahumbe, who is at large, allegedly connived with the trio to steal the briefcase containing the money between December 1, 2018 and January 5, 2019 while they were cleaning the house.
The suspects allegedly spent the money on cars, houses and livestock. “Johanne Mapurisa bought a Toyota Camry… and a house for $20,000 after the incident,” the state prosecutor Teveraishe Zinyemba told the Chinhoyi magistrate court judge Felix Mawadze.
“Saymore Nhetekwa also bought a Honda… and livestock which included pigs and cattle for an undisclosed amount,” quotes the BBC.
The suspects have been ordered to hand over their passports and report to the Kutama Police Station every Friday.
94-year-old Robert Mugabe was ousted as president in 2017 and he has since been at his home in the capital and in Singapore where he spent several months for medical treatment.
