BREAKING: Rushwaya remanded to Tuesday, court waits for evidence from RBZ
Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) President Ms Henrietta Rushwaya who was recently convicted of a gold smuggling attempt has been remanded to Tuesday 14 November for sentencing in the anti-corruption court at the High Court in Harare as the state waits for evidence from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) on how much the state was prejudiced.
Rudairo Mapuranga
She was remanded in custody last week for sentencing today after the Anti-Corruption Court turned down her request to remain on bail pending sentence following her conviction on charges of attempting to smuggle 6kg of gold worth more than US$333 000 to Dubai three years ago.
The court is allowed to have oral evidence on the amount of prejudice following a conviction from corruption-related charges.
The court has established that the gold Rushwaya was convicted for trying to smuggle belonged to her this might therefore mean that the state could have been prejudiced 1 percent of the Gold translating to US$3 300.
According to the law gold produced by small miners attract 1 per cent royalty (for the first 0.5 kgs of gold delivered to a holder of a gold licence in a calendar month); 1 per cent (if the gold is delivered by a holder of a gold-buying agency permit to a holder of a gold-dealing licence in a calendar month), 2 percent (if the gold delivered to a holder of a gold dealing licence in a calendar month exceeds 0.5 kgs). And Gold produced by other miners attracts 3 percent (if the gold produced by them is sold at a time when its price is below US$1,200 per ounce) 5 percent (if the gold produced by them is sold at a time when its price is above US$1,200 per ounce).
Rushwaya denied the charge, claiming she mistakenly picked up the wrong bag, one containing gold bars rather than the one she meant to take on her trip and that smuggling 6kgs of gold is not worth the hustle as the amount gained cannot even pay for airfares.
Justice Pisirayi Kwenda, who presided over the trial with two assessors, found Rushwaya guilty, dismissing her defence of a “wrong bag” as implausible. Rushwaya was charged along with two Central Intelligence Organisation operatives Stephen Tserai and Raphios Mufandauya.
These two were found not guilty at the close of the prosecution case, for lack of evidence that they had committed a smuggling offence. This left Rushwaya to put on her defence after the court ruled she did have a case to answer. Now the judge must work out the sentence after taking into account evidence presented in aggravation and mitigation.
The ZMF Executives including all the 8 Provincial chairpersons came to court in support of their President.