By Moshoeshoe Monare
Harare - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's heir apparent and Speaker of Parliament Emmerson Mnangagwa has been implicated in illicit gold dealings.
In a charge sheet prepared by the state, leaked to Independent Newspapers, Mnangagwa has been incriminated for accepting Z$8-million (about R12 300) from an illegal gold dealer.
The allegations emerged in a court case involving an alleged "unscrupulous" gold dealer, Mark Mathew Burden, 43, who is appearing in the Zimbabwe High Court for dealing in gold without a proper legal permit.
"Upon perusal of the bank documents, police discovered that the accused had made the following cheque payments to ED Mnangagwa.
"On September 17, 2003 the accused paid ED Mnangagwa Z$8-million using bank cheque 693803.
"When asked about these payments, which the police suspected to have been related to gold transactions, the accused could not satisfactorily explain," the state said in the charge sheet.
On Tuesday, Burden's attorney demanded that Mnangagwa's name be erased from the charge sheet.
The court agreed and gagged the press from revealing the speaker's name.
However, on Wednesday a source leaked the court charge sheet to Independent Newspapers and other Zimbabwean independent journalists showing Mnangagwa's name.
In the charge sheet, Burden, the owner of Zimbabwe's Ivan Hoe Mine and eight gold custom mining plants, is accused of milling gold ore from other registered miners, small-scale miners and gold panners around Kwekwe district.
"The accused would then buy gold at parallel market rate after milling gold ore from various people."
During 2000, detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department received information that the accused was buying gold at a price higher than the one offered by Fidelity Printers and Refiners.
"(The refinery) is the sole buyer of gold produced in Zimbabwe. That meant the accused was not going to sell gold to Fidelity Printers as he would run (at) a loss.
"Hence, it was suspected that he was externalising the gold," the charge sheet said.
Police discovered more than 2 000kg of gold at his house during a swoop last year.
Burden left for South Africa in November 2003, but was arrested in Kwekwe on his return early this year.
"It has been established that the accused dealt with Thedvall Investments and (exchanged) with Thedvall Investments 1,6kg of gold for a front-end loader which the accused was selling for Zim$10-million (about R15 400).
"On the second occasion, he also exchanged a grader he was selling for Z$1-million (about R1 540) for 120kg of gold. On the third occasion, the accused exchanged a Shell DAF Truck he was selling for Z$5-million (about R7 700) for 270kg of gold.
He is also accused of exchanging 69 000 litres of diesel for six kilograms of gold.
"On all these occasions, the accused declined to accept cash and preferred gold," the state alleges.