Chikore's Claims Indicate Corruption By Mugabe - Lawyer

Lawyer Musa Kika says if Simba Chikore‘s claims of co-owning 21 farms, and more, with Bona Mugabe are true, they suggest corruption and unconstitutional wealth distribution based on political connections.

Kika made the remarks after Simba Chikore revealed in court papers that he jointly owns at least 21 farms with Bona Mugabe, the daughter of Zimbabwe’s founding leader, the late Robert Mugabe. Kika told Al Jazeera:

If proven to be true and accurate, this goes against the spirit of our Constitution. Our Constitution requires equitable distribution of the finite resource of land and expressly states in section 293(2) that ‘the State may not alienate more than one piece of agricultural land to the same person and his or her dependants.

According to him, the term “alienate” includes both leasing and selling of land.

Steven Chuma, the youth interim spokesman of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), has said the Simba Chikore and Bona Mugabe’s divorce case has proven that the land reform exercise only benefited political elites. Chuma said the land reform was “never about landless majority but was meant to self-enrich leaders of the post-colonial state.”

Mugabe is believed to have amassed great wealth as Zimbabwe’s leader, and Simba and Bona Mugabe’s divorce sheds light on it. One Facebook user, Gideon Baba Tyler Mtetwa, wrote:

This is how dirty Mugabe was. Just a tip of the iceberg. Imagine what his other kids and himself own, his uncles, aunts, rats, dogs and friends.

In the ongoing divorce proceedings between Bona Mugabe and Simba Chikore, court papers reveal that they co-own extensive land, 21 farms, a Dubai mansion worth $8m, and luxury cars. The revelation has caused outrage in Zimbabwe. The couple, who have been married for nine years, are in a custody battle over their three children and the division of their joint assets.

The contentious divorce has revealed the immense wealth of Zimbabwe’s former ruler’s family, with court papers showing an $80m real estate portfolio. Chikore also listed luxury cars, including an $800 000 Rolls Royce and three Range Rovers, as family assets, confirmed by Bona’s lawyer in court papers.

Just two weeks ago, an Al Jazeera documentary exposed large-scale gold smuggling by individuals linked to Zimbabwean officials and the ruling party. The former first family was also accused of smuggling diamonds and ivory.

Now, with the revelation of the Mugabe family’s immense wealth during the ongoing divorce proceedings, some Zimbabweans are demanding investigations into how they acquired such assets. Garikai Mazara, a former media personality said:

As much as Simba did well to list those properties as a settlement plan, it did reveal something to the world,”  “It does not need one to be a rocket scientist to see that the properties listed by Simba Chikore were crudely acquired. So it is my fervent hope that the presiding judge in the divorce settlement, after dispensing with the case, will have the presence of mind to ask how those properties were acquired. And then recommend for a judicial enquiry. Killing two birds with one stone, it is not without precedent.

Some people are questioning how much wealth the Mugabe family has accumulated over the years, with one Facebook user calling it “looting par excellence” and suggesting that the liberation war was wasted if it led to this system.

Award-winning journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono wrote:

Many Zimbabweans were shocked today with the amount of land owned by Bona Mugabe in Borrowdale. This is how land has been stolen from Zimbabweans by ZANUPF corrupt politicians. The Government request land from council, then it is transferred to ZANUPF corrupt politicians.

Some are criticizing Mugabe for hypocrisy during his time in power, with one Twitter user accusing him of failing to practice what he preached on black empowerment and looting vast amounts of land behind the scenes while publicly advocating for the “1 man 1 farm” policy.

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