Harare, Zimbabwe – Revelations of gold smuggling by individuals associated with Zimbabwean government officials and the ruling party in an Al Jazeera documentary have sparked outrage in the country.
The four-part documentary titled The Gold Mafia was filmed by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I unit), based on dozens of undercover operations across three continents and thousands of documents.
It revealed how massive amounts of gold are smuggled clandestinely every month from Zimbabwe, Africa’s sixth largest gold producer, to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Uebert Angel, presidential envoy and ambassador general to Europe and America since March 2021, was secretly filmed bragging that he could easily move $1.2 billion due to his diplomatic immunity.
Other individuals filmed or mentioned in the documentary as part of smuggling gangs include Henrietta Rushwaya, President of the Zimbabwe Miners Federation – believed to be the niece of President Emmerson Mnangagwa – and Kamlesh Pattni, a businessman previously involved in a gold smuggling scandal in Kenya.
Pattni, who “knighted” Robert Mugabe as king of kings in March 2012 and presented a black dress and gold crown to the late leader, still maintains strong ties to the ruling party.
In October 2020, Rushwaya was arrested at Harare airport for attempting to smuggle gold into Dubai. Her case is still in court, but the National Prosecutor’s Office has said there is not enough evidence for a conviction.
In Zimbabwe, the revelations of the film have caused a stir.
According to official estimates, the illicit trade in gold has been costing Zimbabwe an estimated $100 million a month for some time now.
The country is reeling from years of economic mismanagement that have led to high inflation and unemployment. According to World Bank figures, half of the country’s estimated 16 million people live in extreme poverty — on $30 or less a month.
There are widespread allegations of endemic corruption affecting the economy and government critics say the documentary has once again exposed the level of bribery in Zimbabwe.
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Zimbabweans have called for swift justice against those involved in the film.
Angirayi Moyowatidhi, a 45-year-old street vendor in Harare, expressed his outrage at what he said was organized looting of the country’s resources.
“Growing up we were told how the colonial regime from Cecil John Rhodes to Ian Smith plundered our country’s resources and outsourced them to the UK. Now we are witnessing the same process, except it is being done by our elected black leaders,” Moyowatidhi told Al Jazeera.
“The people involved in gold smuggling and violating the laws of the country to profit from gold should be arrested regardless of their status and position in life,” Gift Gadza, a 29-year-old self-employed youth in Harare, said. to Al Jazeera.
“Ordinary people like me suffer while other people live nicely on gold looting. I think we should unite as people and protest against the plundering of resources in the country,” Gadza said.
Chris Mutsvangwa, spokesman for the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), blamed the West for attempts to incite public anger with the documentary.
The country’s detractors, united around George Soros and his Open Society Institute of Southern Africa, are clearly irate and terribly disappointed that Zimbabwe has returned to gold and revived it as the reference anchor of the US dollar. Mutsvangwa said in a statement.
“Countries subject to sanctions must find ways to circumvent the sanctions,” government spokesman Nick Mangwana said in a tweet, drawing widespread criticism from users. “This may mean sourcing supplies through third parties or selling them on the gray market.”
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Anger online led to the scandal becoming a trending Twitter story in the country since Friday.
“The #Aljazeera documentary exposes the extent of the rot at the top, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg,” tweeted Nelson Chamisa, leader of the main opposition, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC). “This clearly shows how corrupt, rotten and broken leadership has destroyed a jewel and a great country. Zimbabwe is not poor, it is just badly governed!”
THE FISH ROT FROM THE HEAD The #Aljazeera documentary exposes the extent of the rot at the top, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. This clearly shows how corrupt, rotten and broken leadership has destroyed a jewel and a great country. Zimbabwe is not poor, it is just badly governed!
— nelson chamisa (@nelsonchamisa) March 24, 2023
Trevor Ncube, a longtime critic of the Zimbabwean government and former publisher of the South African Mail & Guardian, said Mnangagwa should have already dealt with the allegations.
“Silence is not an option,” Ncube tweeted.
under normal circumstances @edmnangagwa would schedule a press conference to discuss the damning allegations in the first episode of the #AlJazeera Documentary . He would address the nation, answer questions from journalists. Silence is not an option. I am an optimist. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/MnZOyvph82
— Trevor Ncube (@TrevorNcube) March 24, 2023
Some have called on Mnangagwa to fire Angel.
If ED is not involved in this Gold Mafia story, then we will see him immediately dismiss the prophet Ubert Angel from his duties because the prophet referred to the president in his discussion that he could make deals in the absence of the president and on his…
— Setfree Nherera Mafukidze 🇿🇼 (@cdesetfree) March 24, 2023
Other Twitter users have demanded Mnangagwa’s resignation.
“Emmerson Mnangagwa is the criminal around Zimbabwe. We call on all patriotic Zimbabweans to join us in our call for the President to step down. This is not about Ubert but about his employer number 1. To the police, soldiers, this message is also for you,” Team Pachedu tweeted.
Some of those fingered in the documentary have denied the allegations.
“The reality is that the ambassador has not traded gold or moved cash for anyone,” said a statement from Angel, who challenged anyone with evidence to the contrary to come forward. “It is clear from the documentary that Ambassador Angel and his team have never traded gold.
“These statements [in the documentary] were made with the aim of getting a true picture of these bogus investors and it became clear that the intelligence agencies were 100% right,” it added.