ZIMRA officers granted bail over Chatunga Mugabe cars importation fraud
BULAWAYO – Two Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) officers stationed at Plumtree Border Post were on Wednesday granted US$500 bail each after being charged with criminal abuse of office for allegedly falsifying import and export records of two luxury vehicles linked to Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, the former president’s son.
ZIMRA says it was prejudiced of a potential US$549,291 in customs revenue.
Edwin Mhondiwa Chabuda, 43, and Upenyu Chaurura, 51, appeared before Bulawayo regional magistrate Mark Dzira facing separate charges of criminal abuse of duty as public officers.
The two allegedly worked with Tafadzwa Pedzisai, who is still at large, to fraudulently clear a Lamborghini Urus and a Mercedes-Benz GLE 53 through the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA), falsely recording that the vehicles had exited the country after they had entered the country from South Africa with temporary import permits (TIP).
They were granted US$500 bail each and ordered to reside at their given addresses, surrender their travel documents, and not interfere with prosecution witnesses.
Prosecutor Vhusani Moyo told the court that Chabuda allegedly made a false entry on a Lamborghini Urus registration number TL00GP, valued at US$818,689.69 inclusive of duty, on July 12, 2026.
The vehicle had entered Zimbabwe on June 9, 2026, under a TIP due to expire on July 9, 2026.
Chabuda, whose duties included physically inspecting vehicles before clearing their permits in the ASYCUDA system, allegedly recorded that the Lamborghini had exited the country without verifying its presence.
“The accused person, working in connivance with one Tafadzwa Pedzisai, acquitted the TIP of the Lamborghini Urus, attesting that the vehicle had left the country whereas the vehicle was in actual fact in the country,” Moyo said.
The vehicle was later recovered at Brompton Guest House in Harare, where Chatunga – the 29-year-old som of the late former president Robert Mugabe – was later arrested alongside four others for assaulting an officer from the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission who was conducting surveillance. They are out on bail.
The prosecution alleges that the Urus now considered smuggled into Zimbabwe would have attracted customs duty of US$469 472,75.
Chaurura allegedly cleared a Mercedes-Benz GLE 53 valued at US$162,360.51 inclusive of duty, on October 2, 2026.
The vehicle had entered Zimbabwe on June 9, 2026, under a TIP due to expire on August 11, 2026.
Chaurura allegedly worked with Pedzisai to acquit the permit in the ASYCUDA system, falsely indicating that the vehicle had left the country without physically inspecting it.
The Mercedes-Benz was also recovered at the Harare lodge.
The alleged offence prejudiced ZIMRA of US$79,818.31 in customs duty.
