HARARE — Kelsea Tadiwa Tafirenyika has told a Harare court that the luxury houses and fleet of high-end vehicles at the centre of a US$9.3 million money-laundering case were gifts from her husband, Collins Mnangagwa, saying his business empire was large enough to pay for the lavish assets.
The explanation came as the investigation widened across two cities, leaving Tafirenyika in custody in Harare while her mother, sister and another relative were denied bail in Bulawayo. The three women were arrested at a lodge hours before they were due to leave Zimbabwe on a private jet bound for the United Arab Emirates.
Bulawayo magistrate Taurai Manuwere on Monday remanded Amina Jassinta Jessub Arab, 47, Dyonne Tanaka Tafirenyika, 28, and Noreen Jessub, 51, in custody until September 3. They face charges of dealing in dangerous drugs after police searched rooms at a lodge in Ilanda suburb on August 19.
The court heard that detectives allegedly recovered cocaine, crystal methamphetamine and ecstasy from rooms occupied by the three women and from their personal belongings. Prosecutors also said US$20,000 and US$23,055 were found in the possession of two of the accused. The combined cash haul was put at US$53,055 in the case presented to court.
Prosecutor Nkanyezi Xaba opposed bail, arguing that the seriousness of the charges, the possibility of prison sentences, the women’s foreign residences and their access to passports and cash created a risk that they would leave the country.
Manuwere said the alleged recovery of drugs from areas linked to each accused strengthened the prosecution case. “The recovery of the illicit drugs from the specific personal belongings of each applicant within their respective rented rooms” was a significant factor, he said.
The magistrate added that the drugs involved were dangerous and that the prospect of imprisonment could encourage the accused to abscond. “Clearly, where the state possesses cogent, direct evidence, the prospect of a custodial sentence is a powerful inducement for an accused person to abscond,” Manuwere said.
The defence argued that the women were suitable candidates for bail, that their passports had already been seized and that they could be placed under strict reporting conditions. Their lawyer, Brezhnev Mathonsi, also questioned whether prosecutors had clearly shown what role each woman allegedly played, or whether they were users or sellers of the drugs.
Manuwere rejected the argument that ordinary bail conditions would be enough. He noted that the three did not usually live in Bulawayo, held valid passports at the time of their arrest and had access to substantial cash.
“The combination of these factors shows that physical capacity for international mobility and immediate financial means to relocate outside the court’s reach is anything but remote to the applicants,” he ruled.
He added: “The possession of valid passports, substantial and unverified cash assets, combined with standard conditions such as passport surrender and report-in obligations, does not adequately mitigate the real risk of absconding.”
The arrests came as a private jet chartered from the United Arab Emirates waited at Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport. The aircraft was grounded overnight and left Bulawayo on August 20 without the three women.
The court also heard a separate complaint from Arab, Kelsea’s mother, who asked for medical attention after telling the court that she had been kidnapped and tortured in Harare on August 13. Manuwere ordered prison authorities to arrange a medical examination and provide the necessary assistance.
The assets include a US$1.1 million house in Borrowdale Brooke, an US$850,000 property in Borrowdale, an US$800,000 property in Chisipite and a second Borrowdale property valued at US$750,000. Other properties listed by prosecutors are in Vainona, Highlands, Gunhill and Mount Pleasant.
The vehicle list includes two Lamborghinis valued at US$561,000 and US$577,300, a Bentley Continental valued at US$380,000, a Land Rover also valued at US$380,000, a Jaguar worth US$340,000, a Toyota Corolla valued at US$19,200 and another Bentley Continental valued at US$110,000. The State also listed a Rolls-Royce whose value was not stated.
Tafirenyika, represented by lawyer Admire Rubaya, says the assets registered in her name were gifts from Collins Mnangagwa. Her lawyers have maintained that Collins has a wide business empire capable of funding the purchases.
Detective Assistant Inspector Gift Machipisa, the investigating officer, told the court that police had material which challenged that account. He said there was “evidence contradicting that account, including evidence that some of the properties were paid for in cash.”
Machipisa referred specifically to a Victoria Falls property and told the court that “its owner had acknowledged receiving cash from Tafirenyika.” He said police had obtained title deeds and Deeds Registry search results for the 10 Zimbabwean properties, together with Central Vehicle Registry records for nine vehicles.
“The State case does not rest upon inference,” Machipisa said, adding that it was based on “institutional records and in real evidence already in the possession of the Police.” In a separate account of the State’s position, he said: “The State case does not rest upon inference or upon the recollection of witnesses alone. It is anchored in institutional records and in real evidence already in the possession of the police,”
The money-laundering charges relate to alleged proceeds from dealing in pethidine hydrochloride, morphine sulphate and dagga. Investigators also allege that Tafirenyika had no disclosed employment or lawful income capable of explaining the rapid accumulation of assets worth millions of dollars over about three-and-a-half years.
Police further allege that she owns or controls 13 properties in Dubai and South Africa. Machipisa said she had “a residence, and a financial base, in each of two foreign jurisdictions to which she may withdraw.” The overseas assets have not been individually listed in the remand papers.
The investigation also focuses on Apex Logistics Pvt Ltd, Royal Printing Pvt Ltd and With Three Investments Pvt Ltd. Police allege that the companies were used to conceal and layer the suspected proceeds. Investigators are pursuing banking records, certified registry documents and information on assets held outside Zimbabwe, with mutual legal assistance expected to be sought from South Africa and the UAE.
Machipisa said about 10 witnesses had been identified and that investigators expected the work to be completed within two months. Police also said they had recovered an identity document bearing the name Getrude Badza, which they allege was forged.
The State has cited the document as an additional flight-risk concern. Prosecutors say Tafirenyika was already facing a separate drug case when the alleged money-laundering offences were committed.
The latest case followed a dramatic sequence that began with Tafirenyika’s arrest on August 4. Detectives from the CID Drugs and Narcotics Unit had raided her Greystone Park home, where prosecutors allege they found more than 200 ampoules of pethidine and morphine and five rolls of cannabis concealed in her Lamborghini. She denies those allegations.
On August 20, the High Court granted Tafirenyika and her uncle Isaac Jessub US$1,000 bail in that separate matter. The conditions included surrendering their passports, reporting to police every 2 weeks and remaining at their stated addresses. Tafirenyika was re-arrested moments after leaving custody and taken back to court over the money-laundering and forged-document charges.
Her bail hearing in the new case was postponed to Wednesday after Machipisa asked to attend his father’s burial. Tafirenyika therefore remains in custody as the State continues presenting its opposition to her release, while her mother, sister and their relative remain detained in Bulawayo pending their next court appearance.