Zimbabwe Miners Federation leader, Henrietta Rushwaya, accused of defrauding an Indian investor of over US$1 million in a failed mine deal, has been released on a bail of US$500 by a Harare magistrate.
Rushwaya, who was arrested on Tuesday and subsequently released into her lawyer’s custody, was granted bail by magistrate Stanford Mambanje, who cited the absence of compelling reasons from the National Prosecuting Authority to deny her bail.
She is scheduled to appear in court again on April 10.
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According to the prosecution led by Lancelot Mutsokoti, Rushwaya allegedly lured Ashok Jain, chairman of the NV Group of Companies in New Delhi, India, into investing in a gold mine in Umpfurudzi, despite knowing that her special grant for the mine was expiring soon.
Allegedly, she also promised to facilitate business ventures for Jain in Zimbabwe, including liquor distribution, establishing a distillery, and an ethanol plant, for which she demanded US$35,000.
The prosecution further claims that Rushwaya received the requested sum during a meeting in New Delhi in October 2021.
She then reportedly invited Jain and his son to Zimbabwe, showing them the purported gold mine in Mashonaland Central, claiming it spanned 420 hectares and was rich in gold.
Rushwaya allegedly offered to sell the mine to Jain for US$350,000 and demanded an initial installment of US$175,000 on December 26, 2021, followed by subsequent payments totaling US$615,000 between January and May 2022.
However, Rushwaya is accused of misrepresenting the mining activities’ progress, culminating in the presentation of a fraudulent geologist’s survey report indicating the absence of gold deposits at the Umpfurudzi mine.
Allegedly, this was a ploy to divert Jain’s attention to another mine in Shangani. Through these actions, Jain purportedly suffered losses exceeding US$1 million.
Rushwaya is being represented by her lawyer, Oliver Marwa.
