Henrietta Rushwaya arrested

ZIMBABWE Miners’ Federation president Henrietta Rushwaya has been arrested on allegations involving an undisclosed mining transaction.

Last night police said they would not release any details until she appears in court.

She was in custody yesterday evening, assisting police with investigations.

National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the arrest.

“We can confirm that Henrietta Rushwaya is assisting police with investigations following a report made by a certain complainant in relation to a purported mining transaction. So far investigations are in progress and these are the details we can release as of now,” he said.

In November last year, Rushwaya was fined US$5 000 after being convicted of attempting to smuggle 6kg of gold worth over US$333 000 to Dubai.

Rushwaya denied that she had intended to smuggle the gold, claiming she mistakenly picked up the wrong bag at home, one containing gold bars instead of the one she meant to take on her trip. But the defence of a wrong bag was dismissed as implausible by the courts.

She was then ordered to pay a US$5 000 fine (or 12 months). There was in addition, an 18-month jail term wholly suspended for three years on condition she did not commit a similar offence within the stipulated time.

The prosecution case was built on the evidence that Rushwaya was caught with the gold in her bag as she was leaving the country and that she failed to provide a valid export permit and presented a fake invoice and packing list from a company called Ali Japan 786 (Pvt) Limited, at the time of her arrest.

In August 2022, Rushwaya was cleared of allegations of offering a bribe to an airport official to allow her to travel out of the country with 6kg of gold in October 2020.