HARARE – The once-glittering career of Patterson Timba, the former Chief Executive Officer of Renaissance Financial Holdings Group, has taken another dramatic turn for the worse. In a courtroom scene that felt like the closing chapter of a long-running corporate thriller, Timba was remanded in custody yesterday by Harare magistrate Jessie Kufa. The charges? A staggering US$5 million fraud that allegedly dates back to 2018, involving a bitter and protracted ownership wrangle over a gold-producing mine in Mashonaland West.
Timba, who was once a towering figure in Zimbabwe’s financial sector, now finds himself entangled in a web of legal battles that span from fraud and insolvency to shocking allegations of rape. His appearance in the Harare Magistrate’s Court follows a separate appearance at the Kadoma Magistrate’s Court on Monday, where he faced rape allegations. The contrast between his former life as a high-flying banker and his current status as a remanded prisoner could not be more stark.
The complainant in the fraud case is Jameson Rushwaya, the director of Tolrose Mine. Rushwaya, who resides at Glencairn Mine on Blagdon Extension Farm in Kadoma, claims to have lost US$5 million in a scheme orchestrated by Timba. According to prosecutors, the fraud was not a single event but a calculated series of actions that began after Timba was declared insolvent by the High Court in February 2018 under case HC 114/17.
Despite the High Court’s declaration of insolvency, prosecutors allege that Timba continued to act as a director of Tolrose Investments and his other company, Swimming Pool and Underwater Repairs (Pvt) Ltd. This, the State claims, was in direct violation of Tolrose Investments’ articles of association, which stipulate that any director placed under sequestration must immediately cease to hold office.
The State’s case against Timba is built on the allegation that he fraudulently orchestrated and directed the sale of Rushwaya’s shares to himself. In multiple instances, Timba is accused of deposing affidavits as a director, a role he was legally barred from holding due to his insolvency. The Master of the High Court had even appointed Cecil Hondo Madondo as the Judicial Manager of Timba’s estate, yet Timba allegedly continued to pull the strings of his former business empire.
For Jameson Rushwaya, the loss is absolute. He claims that of the US$5 million he lost, nothing has been recovered. The mine at the centre of this storm, Tolrose Mine, is a significant gold producer that has been the subject of an ownership dispute dating back to 2010. This latest “fraud storm” is just the most recent eruption in a saga that has plagued the mine and its stakeholders for over a decade.
Timba is expected back in court today for bail considerations, but the road ahead looks increasingly difficult. As the legal proceedings unfold, the story of Patterson Timba serves as a cautionary tale of how quickly a reputation built over decades can crumble under the weight of criminal allegations and financial ruin.
The current fraud charges are not the first time Timba’s name has been linked to financial impropriety. To understand the gravity of the current situation, one must look back to 2011, when the Renaissance Merchant Bank (RMB) scandal first broke. At the time, a forensic audit report caused significant alarm throughout the financial sector, implicating Timba in the abuse of depositors’ funds. The audit alleged that Timba, as the bank’s major shareholder, had violated corporate governance structures by advancing loans amounting to US$13.9 million to related parties.
The 2011 report was scathing, stating, “In our opinion, the abuse of the depositors’ funds in the capitalisation of RCL was criminal, amounting to theft and or fraud.” This scandal led to the closure of the bank and left many depositors in financial ruin. It was a landmark case that highlighted the dangers of unchecked power within Zimbabwe’s banking industry. Despite the severity of those findings, Timba managed to remain a player in the business world, eventually shifting his focus to the mining sector.
However, his entry into mining was far from smooth. The ownership wrangle over Tolrose Mine between Timba and Jameson Rushwaya has been a fixture of the Zimbabwean legal system for years. In 2011, the two parties entered into a Sale Agreement intended to be a “clean break,” where the Rushwayas sold their interests in Tolrose and Aepromm to Timba. Yet, within months, they were back in court. The dispute escalated to the point where even high-profile political figures became involved. In 2013, reports emerged that Russell Goreraza, the son of former First Lady Grace Mugabe, had seized control of the mine, claiming to have bought shares from Timba. This political interference only added another layer of complexity to an already messy situation, leaving workers at the mine to suffer as production faltered and debts mounted.
Adding a darker dimension to Timba’s current legal woes are the rape allegations he is facing in Kadoma. According to the State outline, Timba allegedly raped an employee at Tolrose Mine in October 2023. The complainant reportedly revealed the abuse to another person in September 2025 and was advised to file a police report. These allegations, combined with the fraud charges, paint a picture of a man whose personal and professional conduct is under intense scrutiny.
The State claims that Timba’s actions since 2018 have been a deliberate attempt to circumvent the law. By continuing to act as a director while insolvent, he allegedly misled stakeholders and manipulated the legal system to maintain control over assets that were no longer legally his to manage. The prosecution argues that his deposition of affidavits as a director was a fraudulent act designed to give a veneer of legitimacy to his unauthorised actions.
As Timba waits for his bail hearing, the community in Kadoma and the wider business world in Harare are watching closely. The Tolrose Mine, once a symbol of wealth and opportunity, has instead become a monument to greed, litigation, and broken promises. For the workers who have spent years caught in the crossfire of this ownership battle, the hope is that these court proceedings will finally bring some form of resolution and stability to the mine.
For Patterson Timba, the man who once sat at the pinnacle of Zimbabwe’s financial elite, the fall has been long and painful. From the boardrooms of Renaissance Financial Holdings to the prisoner’s dock in Harare, his journey is a stark reminder that no one is above the law. Whether he will be able to clear his name or if this is truly the end of his influence remains to be seen, but for now, he remains in custody, facing a future defined by the very courts he once navigated with such confidence.
The US$5 million fraud storm is more than just a legal case; it is a reckoning for a style of business that many hope is a thing of the past. As the prosecution prepares its evidence and the defence readies its arguments, the focus remains on the quest for justice for Jameson Rushwaya and the many others who have been affected by the long and turbulent career of Patterson Timba.
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