An Al Jazeera investigative journalist who posed as a secretary to a fake Chinese gangster in the Gold Mafia series has said President Emmerson Mnangagwa was called by his emissary Uebert Angel, but the call was not recorded.
Mnangagwa allegedly offered a part of the Zambezi River shores for development and requested a one-on-one meeting with the team to finalize deals. An initial meeting with Mnangagwa was cancelled after the journalists refused to pay a $200 000 ‘facilitation fee’ to Angel. The journalist who posed as Miss Sin said:
This meeting is one of those I will never forget, one of my biggest regrets happens at this meeting. Ambassador Angel takes me away from the group, one on one and puts his finger to his lips to tell me to keep quiet, I did not have any recording devices on me because the other people on the team had them.
Sometimes we would change it up a bit, who is recording and who is not. Angel dials who he tells me is President Emmerson Mnangagwa, so I am seated in the booth and hearing him speak to the President.
A lot of it is in Shona but the President is talking about how we should do more than just the casino on the Victoria Falls, he says what about the Zambezi River and talks about how we should have a one-on-one meeting with him.
According to the documentary, President Mnangagwa’s wife Auxillia was recorded advising Uebert Angel to contact the President regarding the mode of transportation for smuggled gold.
Angel was a central figure who provided details and audio to the investigative team and has been cleared of suspicions. He claimed to be vetting possible investors before taking them to the President, according to his lawyer Lovemore Madhuku.