Categories: News

Grace Mugabe allegedly requested a $5 million bribe from Dangote

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.

(513 VIEWS)

Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

Recent Posts

Zimbabwe third among the least free countries in SADC

Zimbabwe has been ranked third among the least free countries in Southern Africa but it…

May 24, 2026

Why I had a girlfriend two months after my wife’s death- Take 1

I had always considered it a curse for a wife to die before her husband.…

May 18, 2026

Why I had a girlfriend two months after my wife’s death

This is a true story about the challenges and loneliness I faced when my wife…

May 17, 2026

Coming soon

My first long-form article in booklet form: Why I had a girlfriend two months after…

May 16, 2026

Insider Publisher starts whatsapp channel

The editor and publisher of The Insider, Charles Rukuni, has started a whatsapp channel through…

May 15, 2026

Who propped whom: Masiyiwa vs Nyambirai?

A friend who knows about my legal battle with Zimbabwe’s richest man, Strive Masiyiwa, way…

May 1, 2026