Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) boss Henrietta Rushwaya has been acquitted of bribery charges levelled against her after she was arrested at the Robert Mugabe International Airport while attempting to smuggle six kilograms of gold out of the country.
Harare magistrate Learnmore Mapiye ruled that the State’s case was too weak for a reasonable court to convict.
Rushwaya claims she never tried to bribe anyone since she was short on cash that day.
“The State witness told the court that the accused was arrested for travelling with gold without proper documents but the evidence of the State witness, especially the first one, was not convincing,” said the Magistrate.
The State alleged that Rushwaya attempted to bribe a Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ) official Owen Sibanda to gain passage at Robert Gabriel Mugabe international airport with gold.
In her defense, Rushwaya said she had mistakenly taken the wrong bag on the day in question.
She further told the court that there is a chance that the witnesses could have been working to tarnishing her reputation and ruin her chances of retaining ZMF presidency in upcoming elections.
With the bribery charge now past her, Rushwaya still faces the smuggling charge.
