By Despite suggestions including Gokwe Nembudziya, Member of Parliamentary Justice, that the former Zimbabwe First Lady had signed an affidavit pleading for a safe passage for her vehicles, her son Russell and his associates were given a hard time in their bid to enter Botswana with their three fancy cars.
A Botswana newspaper showed that the customs officials at Plumtree Boarder on Friday checked the vehicles and questioned Grace’s son Russell along with his companions, before letting them go.
According to the sources, those who spoke to a Zimbabwean publication revealed that customs officials where under the suspicion that Goreraza Russell, Grace Mugabe’s son who was in the company of Tinashe Munatsi and other unidentified people, was using the top of the range vehicles to smuggle cash and other valuables out of Zimbabwe.
The suspicion arose when Goreraza opted to go through Botswana instead of using the Beitbridge Border Post to get into South Africa where he said he was taking the cars for servicing.
Goreraza’s vehicles were thoroughly searched before being allowed to proceed into Botswana.
Reports explained that after entering the country, Botswana, the three super cars believed to be belonging to Zimbabwe’s former First Lady Grace Mugabe, had a freak accident near Artesia on the A1 road around 10pm on Friday, 19 January, 2018.
The publication reports that all the cars which were in Grace’s son Russell Goreraza’s stewardship were badly damaged but the drivers escaped unscathed.
The vehicles include a Range Rover, with personalized plates, a Porsche with South African registration numbers and reportedly belong to Grace while the Rolls Royce, also with personalized plates belongs to Goreraza.
Russell, according to the reports, insisted that he was taking the cars to South Africa for servicing, according to the sources.
Reporter: Shamilah Namuddu