Former First Lady Grace Mugabe has been linked to a $5 million bribe from Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, who in 2015 indicated that he wanted to invest $1.5 billion in projects in Zimbabwe.
According to the Sunday Times of South Africa, the request is alleged to have been made through President Robert Mugabe’s nephew Patrick Zhuwao who was Minister of Youth and Indigenisation.
Zhuwao, however, flatly denied the claim saying: "I don't know Dangote. I have never met him, and when he came to Zimbabwe I wasn't even in the country."
Zhuwao is said to have made the request through an email in which he said that "as with all investors which come into Zimbabwe there was a need for him to secure his investments and grease elbows, and therefore a sum of $5-million is requested".
In response to the allegation, Zhuwao said: “It’s all so laughable, and it's easy for people to create e-mails and make claims".
Dangote, however, did not proceed with the projects and only showed he still had interest in the projects this month when he sent a team on a 10-day tour.
(432 VIEWS)
