ZIMRA Staff Among Six Charged in US$78k T-Shirt Im...

ZIMRA Staff Among Six Charged in US$78k T-Shirt Import Fraud

Munyaradzi Mashiri | Court Correspondent

Six individuals — including two ZIMRA officials and a clearing agent — have been dragged to court on fraud charges after allegedly smuggling cotton T-shirts worth US$78,880 into Zimbabwe by misrepresenting the shipment as agricultural equipment.

The accused are Jethro Mavangwa ,41, director of Jeed Investments Pvt Ltd; Peter Ndamba ,61, director of Rufaro Nenyasha Pvt Voluntary Organisation; Norest Chiureki Marara ,51, a clearing agent with Secure Freight Pvt Ltd; Brian Simbachako ,35, and Alford Toruvanda ,37, both ZIMRA revenue officers; and Tony Chisuse ,31, a truck driver.

They appeared before Harare magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa on Friday facing charges of fraud.

Prosecutor Lancelot Mutsokoti told the court that in October 2024, Mavangwa imported 1,066 cartons of cotton T-shirts weighing 17,573kg from Fin-Agri-Holding D.O.O in Slovenia, under his company Jeed Investments.

The goods were sealed at the Port of Koper in Slovenia and transported to Beira, Mozambique, before arriving in Harare in February this year.

On March 4, Mavangwa allegedly approached CMA CGM shipping company in Harare to change the consignee on the bill of lading to Rufaro Nenyasha Pvt Voluntary Organisation to facilitate the scheme.

Fake shipping documents were then created, falsely identifying the consignment as agricultural drip irrigation equipment from China Drip Irrigation Equipment Co. Ltd, a misrepresentation meant to exploit duty exemptions.

The container, still sealed with its original Slovenian seal, was transported to the Manica warehouse in Harare on March 23.

On April 17, clearing agent Marara subcontracted Best Gadzikwa Mawonera of Dawn Shipping Pvt Ltd to handle ZIMRA clearance using the forged documents.

Relying on the fake invoices, Mawonera declared the goods as agricultural equipment. ZIMRA officers Simbachako and Toruvanda, responsible for physical inspection, allegedly cleared the container without verifying its contents.

The shipment was released on April 25 and delivered to Bramfield Farm in Nyabira, where the T-shirts were offloaded without any duty or VAT being paid.

ZIMRA is said to have suffered an actual prejudice of US$78,880.35, or ZWL$2,167,608.35.

The consignment remains unrecovered. All six accused are being charged with fraud. The court will rule on their bail application on May 13.