Former Mines and Mining Development Minister Walter Chidhakwa and his former permanent secretary Professor Francis Gudyanga, were arrested again on a separate charge of abuse of office.
The duo who are being represented by Mr Wellington Davira of Dzimba, Jaravazi Legal Practitioners, were arrested in Harare on Monday and were taken to Gweru, where they are expected to appear in court today.
The exact charges against the duo were not immediately clear yesterday, sources told The Herald that they are connected to the dispute over Lennox Gold Mine Mashava. It is alleged that a South African gold miner, Mr Leslie Stalin, connived with Gudyanga and sued the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development claiming ownership of Lennox Gold Mine. Despite the grounds being “frivolous”, the ministry did not challenge the suit, resulting in a default judgment. Mines legal adviser a Mrs Munyonga and Masvingo’s provincial mining director, a Mupindiwa, who are also being sucked into the scam, reportedly did not alert Chidhakwa, and the Government failed to appeal against the judgment. Gudyanga stands accused of working with Mr Stalin to wrestle the gold mine from Tambanashe, a Zimbabwean black-owned business that had been given the claims by Government following the liquidation of Reebuck in 2002.
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