HARARE – Two men who allegedly implicated former First Lady Grace Mugabe in an alleged ivory smuggling ring exposed by a Polish journalist have asked a magistrate to remove them from remand due to delays in their trial.
Fanken Madzinga, 48, a registered ivory dealer and his driver Tafadzwa Pamire, were arrested after Adrian Steirn led police to them in a sting operation in February.
On Monday, they asked Harare magistrate Josephine Sande to free them from the requirement to come to court until prosecutors were ready to go to trial, in which case they would proceed by way of summons.
The state will not suffer any prejudice by summoning them to court when ready, they argued, pointing out that they have been coming to court religiously and complied with their bail conditions.
The trial failed to kick off on several occasions and at one time prosecutors told the court that the exhibits were locked away, adding that the individual who keeps the keys was not available.
Prosecutors have also not availed documents requested by defence lawyers, further stalling progress.
The state’s star witness, Steirn, has also not turned up.
Prosecutors say Steirn was doing an investigative story which he picked up in China. The investigation led him to Madzinga and Pamire, who were alleged to be part of an ivory poaching syndicate.
The journalist had represented himself as a buyer. When a meeting was arranged with the pair, Steirn called in the police and a trap was set in Highfields suburb.
The two men were arrested while transferring ivory worth $23,000 from their vehicle into Steirn’s vehicle, said prosecutor Francesca Mukumbiri.
Madzinga is expected to argue that nothing illegal took place.
Steirn told international media that the two men had told him they worked for Grace Mugabe – but the former First Lady’s name has not come up in court, and there is no suggestion she was involved.
The magistrate will rule on Thursday on the two men’s application to be removed from remand.
