ED son’s name dropped in R30 000 fraud

THE name of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s son, Tafadzwa Sean, has been dropped in a case where an alleged conman duped a Gweru businesswoman of R30 000 in a yet-to-berevealed deal.

The conman, using a South African cellphone number with Mnangagwa’s son on his profile picture, reportedly duped a number of unsuspecting people by making them deposit money into his Nedbank account.

Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services permanent secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana warned the public to be wary of the

“conman”.

“There has been a number of reports about a conman masquerading as Sean Mnangagwa. He has Sean’s pic on his profile and has conned a few. He uses an SA number +27 73 971 6562 and the Nedbank account. Please be wise, why would you give money to the President’s son?” Mangwana queried.

He urged those who have fallen victim to the conman to report to the police.

“The person behind the South African number actually fleeced a Gweru businesswoman of R30 000 yesterday. She is one of the victims and it’s up to the victims to report such cases so that the culprit can be brought to book,” he said.

Efforts to get a comment from national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi were fruitless as his mobile phone went unanswered.

The First Family’s name has of late been featuring prominently in alleged illegal activities ranging from drug dealing, gold smuggling and corruption.

In June, a Tynwald woman who masqueraded as Mnangagwa’s daughter and managed to defraud CBZ Bank of US$37 000 and also got a gold claim from the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority was arrested and the matter is pending in the courts.

The fake “First Daughter” is facing two counts of fraud.

The 44-year-old fraudster, Chirambe Chikafu, who had four different identification cards and provided a fake address, said her real name was Chantelle Chikafu Mnangagwa, and claimed to be the daughter of the Zimbabwe leader’s elder brother, Partson.

During the same month, Mnangagwa’s twin son, Takunda Collins, was fingered in the US$60 million Drax International COVID-19 drugs scandal which saw the arrest of Delish Nguwaya, a Mnangagwa family associate together with former Health minister Obadiah Moyo.

Two months later, another Mnangagwa alleged daughter Chido was reportedly detained at Mazowe Police Station after it emerged that she was part of a gang of illegal miners operating along Mazowe River.

Recently, First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa and son, Takunda Collins’ names were dropped in the Henrietta Rushwaya’s 6kg gold smuggling case after she was arrested at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport enroute to Dubai.