HARARE — Kelsea Tadiwa Tafirenyika, the second wife of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s twin son Collins, will return to court on October 30 in a money-laundering case involving properties valued at nearly US$10 million, while her mother and two other relatives remain in custody over separate drug-dealing charges.
The latest hearing date was set after Tafirenyika’s case was postponed in Harare. She is out on US$5,000 bail and must report to the police twice a week. She also surrendered her passport after the High Court overturned an earlier decision to keep her in custody.
The case has drawn together a series of arrests, alleged drug seizures, a disputed property empire and a private jet that was grounded overnight at Bulawayo’s Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport. The aircraft was due to fly Tafirenyika’s mother, Amina Jassinta Jessub Arab, and her sister, Dyonne Tanaka Tafirenyika, to Dubai on August 19. Both women were detained shortly before they were due to board. The jet eventually left the following morning without them.
Amina Arab, 47, Dyonne Tafirenyika, 28, and their relative Noreen Jessub, 51, were arrested at a lodge in Bulawayo’s Ilanda suburb. They are accused of dealing in dangerous drugs and have now been denied bail three times. Bulawayo regional magistrate Sibonginkosi Mnkandla remanded them in custody until September 30.
The arrest of the three women came as investigators widened their inquiry into drugs and property linked to Tafirenyika. The private aircraft, a Bombardier Global Express XRS registered A6-AFC, had a crew of four, including three men and one woman. Authorities initially said it could not take off because the airport control tower was unmanned. It remained on the ground overnight and departed after the two intended passengers had been taken into custody.
The women had travelled from Harare to Bulawayo, apparently choosing the city’s airport in the hope of avoiding detection. Their detention came one day before Tafirenyika was released on bail in an earlier drug case. Detectives were reported to be waiting outside Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison to arrest her again after her release.
Tafirenyika was first arrested on August 4 after detectives from the CID Drugs and Narcotics Unit raided her home in Harare’s Greystone Park suburb. Police alleged that more than 200 ampoules of pethidine and morphine were recovered from her bedroom. Five rolls of cannabis were also allegedly found inside a Lamborghini parked at the property.
The exhibits listed in earlier court papers included 72 ampoules of Verpat Pethidine, 64 Fresenius Pethidine ampoules and 43 ampoules of Morphine Sulphate. The reported value of the seized drugs was US$204. Tafirenyika and her uncle Isaac Arab Jessub were charged with unlawful possession of pethidine for the purpose of dealing and unlawful possession of unregistered medicines.
Justice Pisirayi Kwenda later granted Tafirenyika and Jessub US$1,000 bail each. They were ordered to surrender their passports, remain at their stated addresses, report to the police once every fortnight and avoid contact with State witnesses, exhibits and investigations. The court order stated that they “shall not interfere with State witnesses, exhibits or police investigations.”
Tafirenyika’s release was short-lived. She was rearrested and brought back before the Harare magistrates’ court, where prosecutors added the money-laundering case. The State now says she acquired properties and luxury vehicles with money linked to drug dealing. It also accuses her of possessing a forged identity document bearing her photograph but the name Getrude Badza.
The financial case initially centred on an alleged portfolio worth US$9.35 million. A separate list circulating in connection with the investigation placed the value of ten Harare properties at US$6.745 million. The properties were said to include houses in Borrowdale, Borrowdale Brooke, Highlands, Gunhill, Mount Pleasant, Vainona and Chisipite.
Investigators have also referred to at least 54 properties and vehicles allegedly acquired through funds said to have belonged to Collins Mnangagwa, who owns several mines. About 13 assets, including houses and vehicles, were reportedly recovered. Some were said to have been registered in the names of Tafirenyika’s relatives, including her mother and sister.
Among the assets seized during the inquiry was a Toyota Land Cruiser taken from Arab in Harare on August 13. She was detained after attending court for a bail hearing involving her daughter. Arab later alleged that she was assaulted while in custody, and photographs circulated showing extensive bruising across her back and body.
The allegations surrounding Arab’s detention added a violent dimension to the family dispute. An account of the incident said she was taken to One Commando Barracks and later to State House, where she was questioned about US$4 million that interrogators claimed belonged to Collins. The account said water was poured over her covered face and that she was beaten with sticks and batons. It further alleged that she repeatedly fainted during the questioning.
The same account said First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa demanded money and title deeds connected to properties registered in Tafirenyika’s name. Auxillia has also been accused of claiming that Tafirenyika had bewitched Collins and used a ritual to control him.
“Waisa mwana wangu muhari, mubudise,” Auxillia is alleged to have said. The words were loosely translated as: “You bewitched my son, remove the curse.”
The claims have not been publicly addressed by Auxillia or Collins. Collins is reported to be in Dubai undergoing rehabilitation for drug addiction. He is also said to have continued supporting Tafirenyika, including paying her legal fees and helping arrange the flight that was stopped in Bulawayo.
The prosecution’s concerns about money, passports and overseas connections have featured heavily in the bail hearings. Prosecutors previously argued that Tafirenyika was a flight risk because of property interests in South Africa and Dubai, as well as access to substantial financial resources. A magistrate who denied her bail said she was able to live almost anywhere in the world.
On September 9, Justice Vivian Ndlovu overturned that decision and granted her US$5,000 bail. The judge ordered her to surrender her passport and report to the police every Monday and Friday until the case is finalised. Tafirenyika’s lawyer, Tiriwamambo Kangai, told the court that many of the properties were gifts from Collins.
Her mother and sister have taken a different route through the courts. Their lawyers have repeatedly argued that continued detention is unjustified because investigations have taken longer than expected and the State has not served its papers within the timetable set out in the remand documents.
At their latest bail hearing, lawyer Admire Rubaya said more than 20 days had passed since the arrests without a trial date being set. He said police had indicated that investigations would be completed by September 2, but the deadline passed without the case becoming trial-ready.
“The accused persons are languishing in prison while the state and police are dilly-dallying,” Rubaya said.
He also challenged the forensic evidence and the affidavits used to oppose bail. He said there was no proof that laboratory analysis of the alleged cocaine was in the State’s possession. He argued that there was no field test, preliminary test or confirmatory laboratory result before the court at the first bail hearing.
“There is no evidence to show that the expert analysis is in their possession. We can’t take their word for it,” he said.
The State said forensic examination of the alleged cocaine was still in progress and that September 2 had been an estimated completion date rather than a binding deadline. Prosecutor Vhumani Moyo said the results had reached prosecutors shortly before the latest hearing and that papers would be served on the accused.
The prosecution’s case is that cocaine was recovered from rooms occupied by Jessub and Arab, while cocaine and crystal methamphetamine were allegedly found in Tafirenyika’s room. Two sachets of alleged cocaine were reportedly hidden inside a Nike shoe in Jessub’s room. The substance allegedly linked to Arab was found in a small brown bag. In Tafirenyika’s case, drugs were allegedly found in a small handbag and a plastic bag containing sanitary pads.
The defence has argued that lodge staff had access to the rooms and that the drugs could have been planted. It has also challenged the State’s claim that the women might abscond because they do not ordinarily live in Bulawayo. Their lawyers offered fixed addresses, passport surrender, weekly reporting at Hatfield Police Station, restrictions on movement and house arrest.
The court rejected the renewed bail application, leaving the three women in prison until September 30. Their lawyer said he would appeal again at the High Court.
The next major stage in the wider case will be Tafirenyika’s October 30 appearance in Harare. By then, investigators are expected to have continued tracing the properties and vehicles at the centre of the money-laundering allegations, while prosecutors pursue the drug case involving her mother, sister and relative.
The family’s attempt to leave through Bulawayo has become the defining episode in the investigation. A private aircraft waited on the tarmac, a family divided across two court cases, and a group of relatives who had hoped to reach Dubai were left behind as police pursued allegations involving drugs, cash and a fast-growing list of properties.