HARARE – Businessman Ewan Macmillan has made startling claims he was drunk when he excitedly gushed out secrets about his gold smuggling exploits while branding Vice President Constantino Chiwenga a dunderhead in secretly recorded interviews later aired by Al Jazeera April this year.
Together with United Kingdom based preacher and Zimbabwe ambassador at large Eubert Angel, the name-dropping and bombastic dealer emerged as one of the culprits in a dirty gold smuggling and money laundering scandal in Zimbabwe.
The self-incriminating interviews were aired by the Qatar based news channel in a documentary titled, The Gold Mafia.
The documentary made waves and caused panic within government corridors after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was cast as a possible enabling factor to the money-spinning vice.
After two months of possible reflection, Macmillan has since issued a public apology for the discomfort he caused through his comments which he partially blamed on alcohol.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the businessman said what he said on camera was not true.
“I would like to apologise to my family, to my friends, to fellow Zimbabweans and to all those people that I have offended in my behaviour and comments as shown in the recent Al Jazeera Gold Mafia series.
“I made many statements under the influence of alcohol that were boastful, untrue, derogatory and malicious that have caused harm to those around me, those in business with me, in the industry that I had worked in, to those in the Zimbabwe banking and financial sectors and those in important positions of authority doing their jobs in Government.
“I have embarrassed myself and them, and for that I am very sorry,” he said.
