A Chitungwiza haulage truck owner is accused of helping transport 34 tonnes of lithium ore out of Zimbabwe without the required export permits.
The consignment was allegedly driven to Beira Port in Mozambique for onward shipment to China before authorities intervened.
Rodrick Macheke appeared before Harare magistrate Ruth Moyo charged with contravening Section 3(1), as read with Section 5(a), of the Base Minerals Export Control (Unbeneficiated Base Mineral Ores) Order, 2023 (Statutory Instrument 5 of 2023).
He is the owner and driver of haulage truck registration number ADC 7379/AFQ 9900.
The State alleges that in May 2026, Macheke acted in concert with Tsitsi Manyumwa, Simbarashe Zhaza and Li Dewen to unlawfully export lithium ore through Forbes Border Post.
Court papers state that six trucks were loaded with lithium ore in Harare for export. On May 20, 2026, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority intercepted two of the trucks and their containers at Forbes Border Post. The remaining four trucks, including one registered AFJ 0511/ABN 9751, turned back and returned to Harare.
On May 27, 2026, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC)'s Manicaland provincial office received information about the incident and launched an investigation.
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Investigators established that the seized vehicles were part of a convoy of six trucks transporting lithium ore destined for Beira Port for onward shipment to China.
The investigations further revealed that four trucks — AFJ 0511/ABN 9751, AFQ 5572/AFJ 0772, AEZ 3020/AEG 2920, and AGJ 3321/AGK 2652 — returned to Harare after the interception.
On May 28, 2026, truck AFJ 0511/ABN 9751 allegedly offloaded container MSMU3667673, carrying 34 tonnes of lithium ore, in Msasa.
With the assistance of Manyumwa, the cargo was allegedly transferred to Macheke's truck, ADC 7379/AFQ 9900.
On May 30, 2026, Macheke allegedly drove the loaded truck to Mutare.
The court heard that on June 4, 2026, Simbarashe Zhaza allegedly provided Macheke with fraudulent export documents.
Using those documents, Macheke allegedly exited Zimbabwe on June 6, 2026 and delivered container MSMU3667673 to Beira Port on June 8, 2026 for onward shipment to China.
The consignment was intercepted at Beira Port before it could be shipped following intervention by ZACC.
The matter was remanded to July 23, 2026, for further proceedings.
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