By Judith Nyuke
Neville Mutsvangwa, the son of prominent Zanu PF figures Monica and Christopher, faces a weekend in jail following the postponement of his bail hearing until next week.
Alongside Ellis Majachani and Simbarashe Tichingana, Mutsvangwa stands accused of money laundering and trading in foreign currency.
Additionally, he is charged with violating the Telecommunications Act.
The trio appeared before Harare magistrate Dennis Mangosi, who ordered their detention until the conclusion of their bail hearing scheduled for next week.
Representing the prosecution, Thomas Chanakira argued against granting bail, emphasizing the severity of the charges against the suspects.
He highlighted that the offense of money laundering is particularly grave, as the law stipulates that upon conviction, the accused could face a fine exceeding ZW$500,000 or an amount equivalent to the value of the property involved, along with a potential imprisonment of up to 25 years, or a combination of both a fine and imprisonment.
He also added that the accused are a flight risk.
“The accused are a flight risk. Mutsvangwa has already demonstrated propensity to flee and this warrants his incarceration pending trial.
“When a team of detectives visited his place of residence in Mt Pleasant to arrest him, they were initially denied entry.
“They had to seek the assistance of ZRP Marlborough and were again denied entry into his premises.
The police officers had to apply minimum force and gained entry into the premises by cutting the electric fence and scaling the gate.
“The officers conducted searches but could not find him.
“They continued searching the whole yard only to find Mutsvangwa hiding in-between the security wall and some sacks stashed with waste materials.
“There is no justification why he was hiding. There is no justification why he was not cooperating with the police. That is indicative of his unwillingness to stand trial.”
