By Judith Nyuke
Four men arrested by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) appeared in court on Thursday, facing charges of smuggling 30 tonnes of clothing from Tanzania.
Mallulidi Sultani, Sebastian Mutakwa, Carlton Mutize, and James Mugumbati appeared before Harare Regional Magistrate Jesse Kufa on Thursday.
They were remanded in custody until July 22 for a bail application. Mugumbati faces an additional charge of impersonating a police officer.
The court heard that on July 15, 2026, ZACC received intelligence indicating that a South African-registered haulage truck was in transit to the Chitungwiza industrial area, carrying a smuggled consignment of approximately 30 tonnes of clothing and assorted goods from Tanzania.
Acting on the tip-off, ZACC officers launched an operation to intercept the truck before it could be offloaded. The vehicle was tracked and intercepted at an industrial stand where it was parked.
Sultani and Mutakwa disembarked from the truck and identified themselves as the driver and assistant driver, respectively.
When ZACC officers explained their purpose and inquired about the truck’s contents and clearance paperwork, Mugumbati arrived at the scene.
He introduced himself as a serving member of the Police Intelligence Unit and produced an identity card to that effect. He then claimed to be a joint owner of the 30-tonne clothing consignment.
The prosecution alleged that when ZACC officers requested importation and customs clearance documents, the suspects failed to produce the genuine paperwork.
Instead, Mugumbati and an unnamed accomplice—who claimed to have hired the truck to deliver their goods from Tanzania—produced misleading documentation.
The papers bore stamps from the Chirundu Border Post dated between July 11 and 14, 2026.
However, a closer inspection revealed that the paperwork actually pertained to a completely different consignment of 22,000 kilograms of honey, rather than clothing.
Consequently, the suspects were arrested, and both the haulage truck and its trailer were seized.
