Mike Tichafa Karakadzai
| Mike Tichafa Karakadzai | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 7 March 1957 |
| Died | 19 August 2013 |
Mike Tichafa Karakadzai is a former senior officer in the military of Zimbabwe and retired Air Commodore. He passed away on the 19 August 2013.
A 2001 United Nations report and a 2002 Global witness report alleged that Karakadzai was involved in the operations of COSLEG Private Limited, a company implicated in the plunder of natural resources in the DRC.
Background
Karakadzai qualified for a Graduate Diploma in Purchasing and Supply from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply in the United Kingdom. He obtained an MSc in Strategic Management from the University of Derby. He attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in the United Kingdom where he obtained an MSc in Defence Strategic Studies. He was appointed Deputy Secretary for Policy and Procurement in the Zimbabwe Ministry of Defence in 2000.
Ties to COSLEG
In October 2002 the United Nations published Plundering of DR Congo natural resources: Final report of the Panel of Experts (S/2002/1146). The report, paragraph 28, said Karakadzai had the position of Deputy Secretary of COSLEG, which the United Nations described as "a Congo-Zimbabwe joint stock company ... a key vehicle for military-backed commerce involving mostly diamonds, banking and timber in the Government-held areas". It named Karakadzai as a key player in arranging a January 2001 deal with John Bredenkamp's Tremalt whereby Tremalt obtained copper mining resources in the DRC at a nominal price in exchange for paying a share of proceeds to the governments of the DRC and Zimbabwe. Some of the payments were to be made in the form of military equipment. <ref name="Plundering of DR Congo natural resources: Final report of the Panel of Experts (S/2002/1146)"> [1], UN Security Council, Published: 16 October 2002, Retrieved: August 2019
General Manager of the National Railways of Zimbabwe.
On 1 November 2005 Karakadzai was appointed General Manager of the National Railways of Zimbabwe.
Death
NRZ general manager and freedom fighter Air Commodore Mike Tichafa Karakadzai (Retired) died when he hit a stray cow while driving to Bulawayo. The vehicle swerved to the right and then side swiped a haulage truck. He was 56. The accident occurred on Monday at about 2240 at the 79km peg along the Gweru-Bulawayo road just after the Shangani Mine turn-off flyover. He was travelling alone from Harare on his way to Bulawayo. <ref name="Retired Air Commodore Karakadzai dies"> [2], The Herald, Published: 21 August 2013, Retrieved: 28 August 2019
