Gold MAFIA: ZAPU Calls For Protest At Uebert Angel's Church In South Africa
Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) has called for a protest against Uebert Angel’s, church in Johannesburg, South Africa. Angel, a preacher and ambassador at large, is facing criticism after he was caught on camera offering to use his diplomatic cover to smuggle cash into Zimbabwe on behalf of journalists posing as criminals. The incident also implicates other politically connected individuals in gold smuggling and money laundering.
Angel, who is responsible for promoting Zimbabwe’s investment opportunities, is believed to be part of a larger gold smuggling cartel in a country ranked among the most corrupt by Transparency International.
ZAPU has decided to increase pressure on Angel, who is based in the UK and has churches in other countries. According to a flyer circulated on social media this week, ZAPU called for the protest at Angel’s church to voice displeasure at the government’s “apparent refusal to act on the scandal.” ZAPU national spokesperson Msongelwa Ndlovu told ZimLive:
The aim of the protest is to express our displeasure with the looting as exposed by the documentary, but more importantly, the arrogance of both the government and those implicated.
He said they are demanding accountability adding that those implicated must be visited by “requisite consequences including stripping of government responsibility and immediate arrest”.
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According to Ndlovu, the government’s response to the Al Jazeera documentary is inadequate. Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa announced that the government has directed “relevant organs” to investigate the issues raised in the documentary, but Ndlovu believes this is “hollow and hopeless.” He argues that Al Jazeera did all the investigative work and that the government should take action based on the video evidence presented in the documentary.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has frozen Uebert Angel’s accounts and other individuals implicated in the gold smuggling and money laundering operations. Other accounts frozen belong to Kenyan-born Kamlesh Pattni, Ewan McMillan, Simon Rudland, Cleopas Chidodo, David Chirozvi, Mehlululi Dube, and Fredrick Kunaka. Critics say the move is a non-event considering that the gold mafia deals in cash and gold.
Over 16,000 Zimbabweans have signed a petition initiated by UK-based Zimbabwean, Cathy Filipe Tshezi calling on police to arrest Angel and also for the British government to freeze the cleric’s assets.
Angel has made a statement claiming that he deliberately staged the images showing him colluding with criminals to commit offences. According to Angel, state security warned him that the “criminals” may have had different intentions, so he decided to “play along” with their proposal.
