Chiyangwa said dead, family says he is 'fine'

Chiyangwa said dead, family says he is 'fine'

CHIYANGWA

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• Chiyangwa acquitted

• Chiyangwa seeks discharge as trial ends

• Inside Chiyangwa's mansion

• Detective trailed by 'hitmen' after Chiyangwa threat

• Controvercy as Chiyangwa trial opens

• Muponda: 'My arrest was political'

• 18 cars recovered from Chiyangwa

• Chiyangwa threatens journalist with death

• Chiyangwa facing more charges?

• Chiyangwa arrested

• Msika warns Chiyangwa

• Chiyangwa threatens cop in court

• Chiyangwa implicated in ENG scandal

• Zanu PF bids to oust Msika

• ENG directors charged with fraud

By Staff Reporter

ZIMBABWE'S capital Harare was awash with rumours on Christmas day that the flamboyant business tycoon Phillip Chiyangwa had died under torture by Zimbabwe's intelligence officers, a week after he was seized with several others on espionage charges.

His brother James, reached by telephone in Zimbabwe on Christmas Day, insisted his brother was "fine, and celebrating with the family".

The rumours about Chiyangwa's death were not helped on Friday afternoon when some of Chiyangwa's co-accused were secretly brought before a Harare court. Two journalists who went to the court appearence were denied entry -- and the state media maintained a veil of secrecy which it has studiously kept since Chiyangwa was first reported to have "disappeared" last week.

Police maintain that they did not arrest Chiyangwa, while Zimbabwe's National Security and Intelligence Minister Nicholas Goche says he has "absolutely no idea" about Chiyangwa's whereabouts.

On Thursday, Zimbabwe's privately-owned Financial Gazette newspaper reported that the flashy Zanu PF Mashonaland West provincial chairman and Chinhoyi Member of Parliament was on Wednesday brought to St Giles Rehabilitation Centre for specialist treatment after showing signs of a mild stroke.

The paper said Chiyangwa spent "a few hours" being examined at the health institution. Suspected Central Intelligence Organisation agents later drove him from St Giles, which specialises in spinal cord and stroke-related illnesses, the report said.

Our correspondent in Harare, Mthulisi Mathuthu said: "It is clear there is something which has gone very wrong. The trouble is that those who have the information will not talk about it -- and this is just adding fuel to all sorts of rumours about Chiyangwa."

Chiyangwa, Godfrey Dzvairo (Zimbabwe's ambassador to Mozambique), Kenny Karidza, the Zanu PF deputy security chief; and Tendai Matambanadzo, the Metropolitan Bank secretary, were picked up at different times and dates by unknown people last week in what is shaping up to be an intriguing case.

Sources said the high-profile Zimbabwean citizens were being interrogated by officers from the dreaded CIO at safe houses in different locations on suspicion that they were part of an intricate web of espionage. They are accused of spying for foreign governments -- mainly Britain.

Espionage is generally considered to be a form of treason, which carries the death penalty in Zimbabwe. Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of Zimbabwe's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change, and the late Zanu Ndonga leader, Reverend Nbabaningi Sithole, were some of the high-profile figures to be charged with treason locally for allegedly plotting to kill President Robert Mugabe in a bid to seize power. Tsvangirai has since been acquitted of the charge although the government has appealed to the Supreme Court.

Matambanadzo, one of the longest serving officials at Metropolitan, was picked up by unknown people close to his residence last week and has not returned home since then. Karidza, the brains behind the failed musical show that was to feature the Democratic Republic of the Congo's France-based rhumba artist Koffi Olomide, was said to have been picked up at the Harare International Airport while allegedly trying to flee the country. He is said to have been in possession of some classified Zanu PF documents at the time.

Chiyangwa's wife and brother have repeatedly told journalists that "he is fine", despite the swirling rumors. It is believed the flamboyant businessman was being held in Goromonzi.

It has been a tough year for the billionaire, who became one of the first top Zanu PF officials to have brushes with the law after he was dragged to the courts on allegations of threatening a police officer, perjury and defeating the course of justice in the ENG Capital Asset Management saga. Chiyangwa has since been exonerated of the charges.

James Chiyangwa, the young brother to Phillip, was adamant that Chiyangwa was around and "100 percent fit." "People are lying. He is around and very fit. He is 100 percent fit. If he was sick, do you think I will talk nicely and laugh with you. Usanyeperwe, Phidza aribho (Don't be lied to, Philip is okay," said James Chiyangwa. The sources said the families of all the four men, whose exact locations are the subject of immense speculation, had been gagged by state security agents from revealing the circumstances surrounding the capture of their relatives.
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