Six people, including two revenue officers from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) and a clearing agent, appeared in court on Friday facing fraud charges linked to a botched smuggling operation involving cotton T-shirts worth nearly US$79,000.
The accused — 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 officials; and Tony Chisuse (31), a truck driver — stand accused of misrepresenting a massive consignment of T-shirts as agricultural equipment in an effort to evade customs duty.
According to the State, represented by prosecutor Lancelot Mutsokoti, Mavangwa imported 1,066 cartons of cotton T-shirts weighing over 17,500 kilograms from Slovenia through his company, Jeed Investments, in October 2024.
The shipment, sealed at the Port of Koper in Slovenia, was routed through Beira, Mozambique, before arriving in Harare in February 2025.
In a move allegedly intended to facilitate the scam, Mavangwa reportedly instructed local shipping firm CMA CGM on March 4 to amend the consignee on the bill of lading to Rufaro Nenyasha Pvt Voluntary Organisation.
The group is accused of generating fake shipping documents that misrepresented the contents of the container as drip irrigation equipment from a Chinese company — a ruse meant to exploit import duty exemptions for agricultural goods.
The container, still bearing its original Slovenian seal, was taken to Manica warehouse in Harare on March 23.
On April 17, clearing agent Marara is said to have subcontracted Best Gadzikwa Mawonera of Dawn Shipping Pvt Ltd to handle customs clearance at ZIMRA using the falsified documents. Mawonera reportedly declared the consignment as agricultural goods.
ZIMRA officials Simbachako and Toruvanda, who were tasked with physically inspecting the cargo, allegedly approved the release without verifying its contents. The container was cleared on April 25 and delivered to Bramfield Farm in Nyabira, where the goods were offloaded.
As a result, ZIMRA suffered a financial loss of US$78,880.35, equivalent to ZWL$2,167,608.35 in unpaid duty and VAT. The shipment remains unrecovered.
All six accused face fraud charges and are expected to return to court on May 13 for a bail hearing.
