African Medallion Group (AMG) founder Frank Buyanga has bared his soul in an impassioned letter to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, in which he asks the Zanu PF leader to stop his family from interfering in his child custody battle.
In a lengthy June 10 letter, released to the media, Buyanga accused Mnangagwa’s son, Collins, and his business associate, Delish Nguwaya, of inserting themselves in his child custody battle with ex-girlfriend, Chantelle Muteswa.
Buyanga reminded Mnangagwa that power was temporary, even hinting that the 77-year-old Zanu PF leader had fallen out with the military.
“Your Excellency, there is a lot of interference from external forces in my custody matter and I am not receiving protection of the law,” the millionaire businessman wrote in the letter, in which he traced the history of his dispute with Chantelle, starting from the time they met.
“Such interference is clearly impacting on the rule of law and the vision you have for a better Zimbabwe. It is a pity that with all the hard work you have done for your family name, there remain individuals within your confidence who seek to reduce the integrity of your standing.
“It may be too late to turn the ship around at this stage, especially since some in your family even raised their voice against members of the military. Members of your family may seemingly control the country, but they certainly will not control destiny.”
Buyanga pointed an accusing finger at Collins Mnangagwa, the president’s married twin son who is allegedly romantically involved with Muteswa. Both deny they are having an affair.
The property tycoon claimed Collins had seen to it that police complaints filed by him against Muteswa were not pursued.
“The actions of these individuals, such as sending armed police to my properties, may seek to instil fear within me and my son, but they will not change my views and ideals and I will raise my son to be strong in his beliefs,” Buyanga told Mnagagwa.
“The tactics that have been used in interfering in my personal matters have had a devastating effect on a five-year-old child, but these guerilla tactics by those in your confidence and member of family on me personally, and my son ought to cease immediately.
“You, your Excellency, can put an immediate end to it. Let a father be with his son without using it as a means of warfare.”
Buyenga said he met Muteswa at a party in Harare in December 2009, before they hit it off and she fell pregnant. Their son is now five-years-old.
The couple lived together at an upmarket residence in Sandton, South Africa, before their fallout which triggered the titanic battle for child custody, which has seen them tussle it out in the courts.
Buyanga claims Collins and Nguwaya have made inappropriate contact with one of the judges handling his cases at the High Court, Justice Jacob Manzunzu, in order to frustrate his efforts to gain custody of his son.
He has made complaints against the judge with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, and the Judicial Services Commission (JSC). Only the JSC acknowledged his complaint, he told Mnangagwa.
“I humbly request that as president, you prevent anyone that is within your inner circle or close to you from meddling in my personal family matters as it is bizarre for a Head of State or those close to get involved in a private citizen’s family affairs,” the 40-year-old wrote.
“The interference of individuals in your confidence in these matters has exacerbated an already acrimonious situation. These individuals have taken no cognisance of the impact their actions have on my five-year-old child.”
Buyanga went on to narrate how he hooked up with Muteswa, and how he accommodated her and her father in one of his properties up to the time they fell out.
He says Muteswa took their son to Zimbabwe and “unlawfully” acquired a birth certificate which does not list the boy’s father. Buyanga had to go to court to have a new birth certificate issued with his name.
He claimed that Muteswa has at many times been in contempt of court orders, but was never arrested as the police took sides out of fear and corruption.
Muteswa lost guardianship in July last year when her father was evicted from Buyanga’s house, and interim custody was given to the father by the Children’s Court. Muteswa had visitation rights which she never exercised, Buyanga said.
Instead, Muteswa would allegedly turn up at the boy’s Harare school, “interrupting his learning.”
On March 11, he said Muteswa abducted the boy from the school and he reported the matter at two police stations but she was never arrested, allegedly because she enjoys the protection of the president’s family.
Buyanga got his son back movie-style on March 26 when two men jumped out of a car and grabbed the boy from the backseat of a parked vehicle, before driving off at high speed.
Muteswa went to the police to report her son’s abduction, and Justice Manzunzu subsequently issued an order for Buyanga to return his son within 24 hours or face arrest.
By then, Buyanga had left the country with the boy. He expressed dismay that immigration officials had told a court that he had not legally exited the country on March 27.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police has asked Interpol to locate the boy and arrest Buyanga, but the millionaire insists that he is not a fugitive.
“I wrote a letter to the Commissioner General of police dated May 4, 2020, stating that I am not a fugitive and the media reports that I am a fugitive are prejudicial to me as a business person, a man of God and above all as a father of a five year old boy,” Buyanga wrote to Mnangagwa.
“All my complaints have fallen on deaf ears.”
