OUTSPOKEN preacher Talent Farai Chiwenga has been arrested by Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) officials and dragged before the courts after failing to declare imported goods at the Forbes border post in the country’s eastern border with Mozambique.The fierce government critic on Tuesday appeared before a Mutare magistrate facing smuggling charges.Chiwenga, 34, who was represented by Paul Machiridza, was remanded out of custody on a $400 bail and will be back in the dock on March 21.The apostle was accompanied by bouncers and scores of church congregants when he appeared in court.
The court heard that Chiwenga, on December 21, 2019 passed through Forbes border post on his way from Mozambique in the company of Darlington Moyo and Lovemore Kanyuru.A cousin to Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Apostle Talent is reported to have deliberately avoided to declare to ZIMRA all the goods that were in his possession.The ZIMRA officers then asked him to take his bags for scanning upon which it was discovered that he had not declared some the goods in his possession.
The undeclared goods included teargas ejectors, two-way communication radios, solar battery chargers, among other goods.Moyo and Kanyuru were then arrested after they claimed to be owners of the goods. However, further investigations by ZIMRA showed the goods belonged to Chiwenga, leading to his arrest and appearance in court Tuesday.
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Outspoken Zimbabwean preacher Apostle Talent Chiwenga was arraigned before a Mutare Magistrate Nottbuglar Muchineri today facing smuggling charges.Muchineripi granted Chiwenga ZWL$400 bail to March 31Prosecutor Perseverance Musukuto told the court that on December 11 last year Chiwenga drove from Mozambique to Zimbabwe through the Forbes Border Post in the company of Lovemore Kanyuru and Darlington Moyo.The court was told that Chiwenga completed the immigration papers and passed through the customs and clearing counter without declaring the goods he was in possession of.
A Zimbabwe Revenue Authority official then asked Chiwenga to take his goods for scanning, where it was discovered that the goods were not declared, leading to his arrest.The goods which were not declared include five Kenwood two-way communication radios, solar battery chargers and teargas injectors, among others. Chiwenga was represented by his lawyer, Tariro Paul Machiridza.
