News / National
Ginimbi crash victim wanted in Malawi; linked to US$30m govt heist
09 Nov 2020 at 16:25hrs | Views
ONE of the victims in the horrific car crash which claimed the life of Harare socialite Genius 'Ginimbi' Kadungure was a fugitive from Malawi justice, it has emerged.
Ginimbi and three associates died on the spot Sunday morning after his Rolls Royce was involved in a head-on collision with a Honda Fit before veering off the road, crashing into trees and bursting into flames.
The accident occurred along Harare's Legacy Way (formerly Borrowdale Road) as the four returned from a birthday party for one Mitchelle ‘Moana' Umali who was also in the vehicle and died on the spot.
The other two victims have been identified as Limumba Karim of Malawi and one Elisha from Mozambican, both said to be friends of Ginimbi.
Ginimbi's Rolls Royce in flames just after the Sunday morning crash
According to Malawi publication Nyasa Times, Karim was a fugitive from justice, wanted in connection with the country's biggest corruption scandal.
Known as 'Cashgate', the 2013 scandal saw more than $32 million being siphoned out of government coffers and resulted in donors who bankroll the country's budget by up to 40% pulling the plug on aid.
Businessman Limumba had faced money laundering charges related to the scandal involving US$2.6 million before he escaped justice and was reportedly based in South Africa.
His bail was revoked in January 2017 and an arrest warrant issued after he failed to attend court.
"I would like to discharge myself from this case as counsel for seventh accused person Mr Limumba Karim," his lawyer Wapona Kita told the Lilongwe High Court at the time as he renounced agency.
"I can't get got of him. I don't know where he is, he is out of reach and since there is no word from him I can't continue standing here representing him without communication when I don't know his whereabouts," the lawyer said.
The Malawi government was demanding his extradition from South Africa.
More than 70 people have since been arrested over the scandal former President Joyce Banda, who was in office at the time of the heist, also issued with a warrant of arrest in 2017, a development she dismissed as a witch hunt.
Limumba Karim is reportedly survived by three children, one in South Africa, a newly born in Mozambique and one in Malawi.
His remains are expected to be repatriated to Malawi for burial.
Ginimbi and three associates died on the spot Sunday morning after his Rolls Royce was involved in a head-on collision with a Honda Fit before veering off the road, crashing into trees and bursting into flames.
The accident occurred along Harare's Legacy Way (formerly Borrowdale Road) as the four returned from a birthday party for one Mitchelle ‘Moana' Umali who was also in the vehicle and died on the spot.
The other two victims have been identified as Limumba Karim of Malawi and one Elisha from Mozambican, both said to be friends of Ginimbi.
Ginimbi's Rolls Royce in flames just after the Sunday morning crash
According to Malawi publication Nyasa Times, Karim was a fugitive from justice, wanted in connection with the country's biggest corruption scandal.
Known as 'Cashgate', the 2013 scandal saw more than $32 million being siphoned out of government coffers and resulted in donors who bankroll the country's budget by up to 40% pulling the plug on aid.
Businessman Limumba had faced money laundering charges related to the scandal involving US$2.6 million before he escaped justice and was reportedly based in South Africa.
"I would like to discharge myself from this case as counsel for seventh accused person Mr Limumba Karim," his lawyer Wapona Kita told the Lilongwe High Court at the time as he renounced agency.
"I can't get got of him. I don't know where he is, he is out of reach and since there is no word from him I can't continue standing here representing him without communication when I don't know his whereabouts," the lawyer said.
The Malawi government was demanding his extradition from South Africa.
More than 70 people have since been arrested over the scandal former President Joyce Banda, who was in office at the time of the heist, also issued with a warrant of arrest in 2017, a development she dismissed as a witch hunt.
Limumba Karim is reportedly survived by three children, one in South Africa, a newly born in Mozambique and one in Malawi.
His remains are expected to be repatriated to Malawi for burial.
Source - ZBC
