'Diamond Geezer' Nhara refused bail

'Diamond Geezer' Nhara refused bail

NHARA arrives in court swarmed by CID officers

• Nhara arrested after airport diamond find

• Magistrate to appear in court for illegal gold panning

• RBZ bars journalists from illegal mining hearing

• Top official outed as illegal gold dealer

• 25 000 small scale miners lose claims since November

• Zim government firm takes over diamond claim

• Miners cry foul over gold seizures by RBZ

• Concerns over Zimbabwe diamonds

• 16 000 arrested in Zimbabwe diamonds rush

• Zimbabwe mines take-over at advanced stage

By Torby Chimhashu

WILLIAM Nhara, the Zanu PF Harare Province spokesman who was arrested last week at the Harare International Airport with diamonds worth US$128 000 will, for the next two weeks, rot in remand prison after a magistrate denied him bail.

Harare magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe denied Nhara bail after the state argued that he was facing serious charges and was likely to abscond.

Guvamombe remanded Nhara, dubbed the 'Diamong Geezer', to March 21 but his lawyer Byron Venturas has the option of applying to the High Court for bail.

Nhara has been languishing in police cells since his arrest last Thursday at the Harare International Airport where he was found in possession of diamonds.

He was said to have escorted a Lebanese woman who was believed to have been travelling to South Africa with the precious stones.

The state alleges that he also tried to bribe a police officer who had arrested the Lebanese woman. Nhara is said to have offered US$700.

Nhara is suspected of trying to smuggle diamonds whose street value is
estimated at US$128 000.

On Tuesday, Guvamombe ruled that Nhara spends another night at the Harare
Remand Prison as he deferred his bail application to Wednesday morning.

Zimbabwe is losing between US$40-US$50 million every week through the
smuggling of precious minerals, especially gold, according to the Reserve Bank
of Zimbabwe.

A Harare magistrate was arrested last week together with seven others in
Mhangura where they were allegedly found panning gold.

Police last week raided a house belonging to Zimbabwe Defence Industries
Chief, retired Colonel Tshinga Dube, and arrested his son who was released on
bail following his appearance at the Harare Magistrates Court.

The plunder of minerals has been blamed for the downturn of mineral production especially gold. Police have claimed that several top government officials and civil servants are involved in the illegal mining of minerals.

So far police has nabbed nearly 31 509 people since November but no top
government official has been caught in the blitz -- despite repeated claims by
police and licenced miners that officials are involved in the plunder.

Police have recovered 3,6kg of gold and 7 868 diamonds since the blitz was
launched in November.
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