Tendai Muererwa
Mutare – A suspected attempt to illegally move 204 tonnes of lithium ore from Zimbabwe to China through Forbes Border Post has landed a Mutare customs clearance agent in court, with judgment now pending.
Simbarashe Shazha of Greenside appeared before Mutare magistrate Poterai Gwezhira on August 8 facing two counts of attempted export of unbeneficiated base mineral ore. Shazha 32 allegedly connived with Tsitsi Manyumwa, a co-director of Kunshan Mineral Consultancy, and Chinese national Li Dewen, who is still at large, to fraudulently export the lithium ore to China through Mozambique.
The State, represented by Deliwe Masibhera, alleged that between May 15 and 17, Manyumwa procured six haulage trucks to collect cargo containers from MSC and load them with lithium ore stored at CEVAFRICA Logistics Zimbabwe in Harare.
The trucks allegedly proceeded to Forbes Border Post for onward transportation through Mozambique to China.
On May 20, two of the trucks arrived at the border carrying the lithium ore. Shazha allegedly handed drivers Peter Duri and Philip Majada export documents and Zimbabwe Revenue Authority road manifests declaring the containers empty.
ZIMRA officers, however, became suspicious after noticing that the containers were sealed and conducted checks which allegedly revealed the lithium ore. The drivers allegedly admitted carrying the mineral, resulting in the seizure of the trucks.
Majada was also allegedly found with a Mozambican Transit Declaration Form showing that he was transporting lithium to Beira, contradicting the ZIMRA manifest. Investigations by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission allegedly established that the two trucks formed part of a six-truck convoy carrying lithium to Beira en route to China.
The other four trucks allegedly abandoned the exit queue and returned to Harare after the operation was compromised. Two containers were later recovered at a car park near Glen View One Government Primary School in Harare on June 18. Another truck, AFJ 0511/ABN9751, allegedly transferred its container to a different haulage truck in Msasa on May 28 before proceeding to Mutare.
The State alleges that Shazha supplied the driver, Rodrick Macheke, with fraudulent export documents on June 4, which Macheke allegedly used to exit Zimbabwe on June 6. A fourth truck, AGJ 3321, was intercepted in Goromonzi and taken to BAK storage, where it is being kept.
The State further alleges that Shazha and Manyumwa cloned an expired Bikita Minerals (Pvt) Ltd and ZimAlloys Chrome export permit for petalite concentrate to facilitate the alleged smuggling operation.
Shazha was arrested after allegedly fleeing to Mozambique following the arrest of his alleged accomplices. He was apprehended on Thursday after returning to Zimbabwe. He was represented by Nyasha Mukonyora of Gonese and Ndlovu Legal Practitioners. The matter was remanded for judgment.
