Chiwenga's gold watches, off-shore properties, commercial farms and SUVs

 The Chiwengas' properties, confirmed in a court case, included an apartment in Malaysia, a farm allocated under the land-reform programme, 45 diamond earrings and 40 gold watches.

The commander of the Zimbabwe national army, General Constantine Chiwenga, is another prominent civil servant whose impressive portfolio of real estate in Harare's affluent suburbs was exposed in a court case in 2014.

Reporting on the court proceedings that concluded in September 2014, the Independent reported that as the case was held in camera under case number HC 1200/12, details of the court case could not be published. In judgment number 463/14, the Harare High Court granted the Chiwengas a divorce after both parties conceded that their marriage had irretrievably broken down.

The court also adjudicated on how the couples should share their matrimonial property, among them real estate, companies, top-of-the-range motor vehicles, jewellery, furniture and clothes. It was this court case that first brought the army general's vast wealth into the public realm.

The case also revealed how many of Jocelyn and Constantine Chiwenga's properties were registered through six different companies that they owned.

One of the companies had ceased to exist when the court case sat. Those companies were listed as Blue Chip Stamp Company (Pvt) Ltd, Lighthouse Investments (Pvt) Ltd, Liversay Investments (Pvt) Ltd, Hidcote Investments (Pvt) Ltd, Yolsac Safaris (Pvt) Ltd and Dominicus Investments (Pvt) Ltd.

Through these companies they owned a property at 5 Rosary Close, Quinnington, Borrowdale measuring 5 701 square metres, four industrial units measuring 3 850 square metres, a property at 614 Prince Drive in Borrowdale Brook measuring 4 817 square metres, a property at 79 Follyjon Crescent measuring 4 955 square metres and a house on a 1 692-square-metre stand at 332 Borrowdale Brooke.

The couple owned another stand at 103 Shawasha Hills residential estate, an apartment in Malaysia, a house at 9 Msasa Drive in Msasa Park as well as a commercial farm in Goromonzi, which was allocated to Chiwenga under Robert Mugabe's controversial reform programme legislation.

The court affidavit also identified a stand at 539 Borrowdale Brooke measuring 1 456 square metres, an industrial stand in Marondera, a property at 34 Lythan Drive in Glen Lorne and a vacant piece of land at Mermaids Pool about 42 kilometres from Harare.

Their collection of cars included Prado, Jeep, Toyota Land Cruiser V8, Mercedes Benz C180, Land Rover Defender and a Land Rover Discovery 4.

Their jewellery repertoire consisted of gold bracelets encrusted with diamonds, gold rings encrusted with diamonds, four gold watches with 36-carat diamond, three gold chains with diamond pendants, a gold choker with centre diamond and two gold bangles encrusted with diamonds.

They also owned 40 gold watches, white gold rings, four white gold chokers, Jackie Kennedy pearls and bracelet pearls, 10 gold anklet, an emerald ring, a pearl ring encrusted with 24-carat diamond, forty-eight gold broaches and a set of gold earrings and chain with diamonds.

They also had 45 sets of diamond earrings, a diamond tiara, a blue diamond ring, a diamond and emerald necklace, an emerald cocktail ring, a yellow diamond ring, diamond engagement rings, emerald rings and men's Rolex watches.

You can follow the author @Gosebo_Mathope or email gosebom@citizen.co.za