HARARE – Neville Mutsvangwa, the son of women’s affairs minister Monica Mutsvangwa and Zanu PF spokesman Christopher Mutsvangwa was arrested on Wednesday accused of illegal foreign currency trading.

His mother said he was innocent.

Detectives from CID commercial crimes unit seized Mutsvangwa from his Mt Pleasant home in Harare.

Details of the allegations against him were sketchy. Police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said he would comment on Thursday after gathering the facts.

On his WhatsApp status on Monday, Neville posted a cryptic message stating: 18.75. Some assumed that he was advertising a parallel exchange rate for the ZiG to the United States dollar. It is not clear if that vague post is what triggered the arrest.

Neville’s fuming mother said the charges were trumped up.

“It’s definitely political victimisation because my son doesn’t trade in foreign currency, he doesn’t trade in ZiG so I don’t know what it is and why it had to wait for me to be out of the country. It appears it was timed to coincide with my absence,” she charged.

Authorities attempting to shore up the new currency, Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), have arrested over 100 illegal foreign currency traders in recent weeks, at least 65 of them in Harare. They are being held without bail.

Neville’s arrest, with his political connections, will test the justice system.

It is not the first time Neville has hogged the limelight for the wrong reasons.

He was twice arrested for sexual offences – once for allegedly raping a woman in Harare and a second time for attempting to rape a second woman in Mutare. He was never convicted.

In 2019, police raided his office at 3 Sanfenand Flats on Fife Avenue in Harare where he was allegedly conducting illegal foreign currency deals. He was away but police found US$200,000.

Four detectives allegedly conspired with Mutsvangwa’s workers to under declare the money found on the premises by seizing US$40,000 instead of the full amount.

By the time they got to the police station, the money had gone down to US$20,000. The quartet were subsequently arrested for the theft of US$20,000.

Neville was also accused of undermining government policy after selling Starlink units in Zimbabwe, even as authorities warned that the satellite internet service was not authorised to operate in the country.