A fire broke out late Friday night at the residence of Deputy Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Kudakwashe David Mnangagwa, shortly before midnight, according to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP).
In a statement released on Saturday, ZRP spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the incident but did not provide any further details on the circumstances surrounding the fire. He said:
The Zimbabwe Republic Police confirms that investigations are currently underway in connection with a fire incident which occurred at the house of the Deputy Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, Honourable Kudakwashe David Mnangagwa on 28 June 2024 at 11.30 PM.
The fire incident at the Deputy Minister’s residence comes on the heels of previous mysterious occurrences at his Borrowdale home, with the police still investigating and searching for clues on the potential perpetrators.
According to ZimLive, on June 23, around 10 PM, while Mnangagwa was watching television with his wife, they heard unusual noises coming from the ceiling of their home.
He called two police officers guarding his home who surveyed the house and the perimeter but saw nothing suspicious.
At about 11.50 PM that same night, Mnangagwa called the officers a second time and asked them to check the roof.
It is alleged that on the roof, officers found a bag loaded with some of the deputy minister’s possessions including torn documents, two Apple MacBook laptops and a MacBook iPad which appeared to have been deliberately damaged.
Mnangagwa reportedly informed the officers that his 9mm Beretta pistol with 15 live cartridges was missing, together with US$500 cash which was in the bag.
The intruder allegedly entered the kitchen, retrieved a loaf of bread from the kitchen unit and dumped it on the floor near the door.
The intruder then went to the garage and cut the driver’s headrest of Mnangagwa’s parked Land Rover Defender.
ZimLive reported that on June 24, police officers, including a canine unit, combed the property but there was no trace of the suspect and no evidence of any forced entry.
In the second incident, on June 25, an intruder whom police are dubbing the “ghost raider” left six cartridges – three outside Mnangagwa’s main bedroom door and three on the lawn outside his house.
Just after 7.30 AM on June 26, Mnangagwa’s eight-year-old son went to his parents’ bedroom and as he was about to knock on the door he saw a live cartridge lying on the floor and police were called.
Police located three cartridges within two meters of the door, and a further three on the lawn outside the property.
The repeated, undetected intrusions into the heavily guarded home of the Deputy Minister, even in the presence of potential CCTV surveillance, are perplexing.
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