Marry Mubaiwa Chiwenga, the estranged wife of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, was arrested whilst naked in her bathroom at her home in Borrowdale, Harare on Saturday, her lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa has revealed.
“She was in the bathroom in her bedroom when the men suddenly opened the door while she was naked and told her that she was under arrest,” Mtetwa charged.
“They searched her bedroom without saying what they were looking for. She was taken to the police. After that, they came back to the house and Marry’s mother who had accompanied her to the police was not allowed back into the house. She had her car parked at her daughter’s house.
“They had locksmiths with them who changed the keys to the house while Chiwenga’s lawyer, (Wellington) Pasipanodya — a partner at Manase and Manase Law Firm — was supervising the process,” Mtetwa told the independent local Daily News newspaper.
“They searched her bedroom without saying what they were looking for. She was taken to the police. After that, they came back to the house and Marry’s mother who had accompanied her to the police was not allowed back into the house. She had her car parked at her daughter’s house.
“They had locksmiths with them who changed the keys to the house while Chiwenga’s lawyer, (Wellington) Pasipanodya — a partner at Manase and Manase Law Firm — was supervising the process,” Mtetwa told the independent local Daily News newspaper.
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| Marry Mubaiwa the wife of Zimbabwe vice-president Constantino Chiwenga covers her head with a wrap as she climbs into the back of a prison vehicle, in order to leave the Harare Magistrate's Court, on December 16, 2019, where she was charged with attempted murder of the vice president, fraud and money laundering. - Anti-corruption officers detained 38-year-old Marry Mubaiwa, the wife of vice-president Constantine Guvheya Nyikadzino Chiwenga, on December 14, 2019, according to a police report. (Photo by Jekesai NJIKIZANA / AFP) (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP via Getty Images) |
“It was a well-coordinated plot to lock her out if one considers that they came with locksmiths and that his (Chiwenga’s) lawyer was present, supervising everything. They also took away the couple’s three children and no one knows where they are right now,” Mtetwa said.
“But the laws of Zimbabwe are very clear that when a couple separates, the minors stay with their mother, but as it is, they have taken away Marry’s children from her,” she added.
“She is in a very bad state. She needs medication and we are trying to arrange something for her so that she is allowed access to medical care,” she said, adding that her doctors also appeared afraid to come and attend to her.
An internal Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) memorandum of the charges shows that between October 2018 and May this year Mubaiwa is accused of unlawfully transferring $919,000 to South Africa under the guise of importing goods, which it claims she never did.
The timing of Mubaiwa’s arrest will likely raise eyebrows after local private media reported two weeks ago that she was going through a divorce with her husband Chiwenga.
The ZACC memo accused Mubaiwa of fraudulently obtaining a marriage certificate without Chiwenga’s consent earlier this year when the vice president was ill. The two have been married under Zimbabwe’s customary law since 2011 and have two children.
On Monday, Marry was slapped with additional charges of attempting to kill VP Chiwenga and remanded in custody to 30 December after she appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts.
“On 22 June 2019, the complainant was airlifted to South Africa for emergency medical attention. However, upon arrival, the accused forced the complainant to stay at the Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria.
“On 23 June, accused kept on denying complainant access to medical treatment and the security team had to force their way to take the complainant to Netcare Hospital,” the charge sheet reads.
Marry (nee Mubaiwa) is also accused of unlawfully removing a medical Intravenous Giving Set and Central Catheter inserted on VP Chiwenga forcing him to bleed “profusely”. Nehanda Radio
“But the laws of Zimbabwe are very clear that when a couple separates, the minors stay with their mother, but as it is, they have taken away Marry’s children from her,” she added.
“She is in a very bad state. She needs medication and we are trying to arrange something for her so that she is allowed access to medical care,” she said, adding that her doctors also appeared afraid to come and attend to her.
An internal Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) memorandum of the charges shows that between October 2018 and May this year Mubaiwa is accused of unlawfully transferring $919,000 to South Africa under the guise of importing goods, which it claims she never did.
The timing of Mubaiwa’s arrest will likely raise eyebrows after local private media reported two weeks ago that she was going through a divorce with her husband Chiwenga.
The ZACC memo accused Mubaiwa of fraudulently obtaining a marriage certificate without Chiwenga’s consent earlier this year when the vice president was ill. The two have been married under Zimbabwe’s customary law since 2011 and have two children.
On Monday, Marry was slapped with additional charges of attempting to kill VP Chiwenga and remanded in custody to 30 December after she appeared at the Harare Magistrates’ Courts.
“On 22 June 2019, the complainant was airlifted to South Africa for emergency medical attention. However, upon arrival, the accused forced the complainant to stay at the Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria.
“On 23 June, accused kept on denying complainant access to medical treatment and the security team had to force their way to take the complainant to Netcare Hospital,” the charge sheet reads.
Marry (nee Mubaiwa) is also accused of unlawfully removing a medical Intravenous Giving Set and Central Catheter inserted on VP Chiwenga forcing him to bleed “profusely”. Nehanda Radio
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