Mnangagwa's son fingered in company grab

Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa's son Collins Takunda is embroiled in a company ownership wrangle with a Chinese businessman, Mingel Cheng, who accuses him of fraudulently grabbing his Timesite Enterprises using political muscle.

In an April 25 letter to Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs minister Martin Dinha, Cheng alleged through his attorneys Gumbo and Associates that Collins and his partner of Chinese origin, Yang Linhai, fraudulently forged his signature together with that of his Zimbabwean partner Sobey Chisewe on letters purporting that the two had resigned as the company's directors.

The letter was copied to President Robert Mugabe, appealing for his office's intervention in the matter.

"We wish to indicate that our clients never resigned as directors of Timesite Enterprises… their signatures were forged. In fact, someone simply signed purporting that our clients had signed those letters.

"Our clients noted with concern that Collins Takunda Mnangagwa is son of vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa.

"From a business point of view, that does not matter, what matters in this case is the fraudulent takeover of our client's company using clandestine means presumably hiding under the cover of his relationship with the vice president…," the duo alleged.

Takunda could not be reached for comment.

In the letter that was also copied to the Joint Operations Command, Cheng and Chisewe's lawyers also appealed for Mugabe's intervention in the matter saying the matter needed to be dealt with "at the highest level" owing to the involvement of Mnangagwa's son.

"We are therefore under instruction your honour to request your office to have the matter referred to the president… so that investigations are done. Our clients have no option but to approach you since the vice president's son is involved so that the matter is discussed at the appropriate levels," they wrote.

In 2015, three men, Prosper Muchenje, Pardon Matanhire and Leonard Chiteka appeared before Harare magistrate Francis Mapfumo on allegations of kidnapping Cheng posing as members of the military police and Central Intelligence Oganisation.

The trio accused the Chinese businessman of externalising

$482 000 and they subsequently "forcibly" took his company documents before "forcing him leave the country".

Cheng and Chisewe used to control a 49 and 51 percent stake respectively in the gold milling company at Barrasie Farm, which at its peak used to employ about 292 workers.

At present, Collins and his Chinese partners have the same arrangement with the Midlands godfather's son, controlling the bigger stake.