Zimbabwe’s honorary consul to Belarus Alexander Zingman has been released from prison in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after two weeks in custody.
Zingman who is allegedly an arms dealer was arrested immediately after meeting Joseph Kabila, DRC’s former president whose relations with the incumbent president are reportedly tense.
Alexander Zingman was reportedly was at the centre of Zimbabwe’s US$58 million agricultural equipment deal with Belarus in 2019 and a comprehensive US$350 million trade arrangement between the two countries.
Meanwhile, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesperson, George Charamba has defended the US passport holder saying there was nothing controversial about Zingman except for those manufactured by the media.
Responding to a NewsHawks tweet that said “President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s controversial business associate and Zimbabwe’s honorary consul to Belarus Alexander Zingman has been released in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),” Charamba said:
You guys invent controversies!!! There is nothing controversial about Mister Alexander Zingman. What was controversial was his arrest and detention in DRC, an action which the DRC President has since regretted. Incidentally, I hope you know Mister Zingman is also a holder of US passport, which is why Russia, Belarus, America and Zimbabwe sought to understand DRC actions.
Others said while Zingman’s friends have previously been arrested for corruption, he himself was yet to be arrested.