Opinion by Nigel Pfunde
The arrest of the late former president Robert Mugabe’s son Robert Jnr this week has opened the lid off a scandalous hornet’s nest.
This is not a kids’game (haasi mafunnies) .
Me thinks whats popping here is just a microcosm of the macrocosm that opens a window into how the oligarchs and political elites’ offspring are allegedly running drug peddling syndicates.
Funny thing is it is at a time when the country is bombarded with “say no to drugs” campaigns.
This week the National Prosecuting Authority ‘s outline stated that Bob Jnr was caught with just two grammes of weed worth US$30 in the corridors at jazzmen value.
But police statement released on October 2 say something different.
Infact, something bigger to the extent of alleging that the former president’s boy is part of a full-blown ‘cartel’.
Five other young hustlers linked to the same ring were also dragged in.
Their ‘corridor’ and ‘territory’ is Avondale and Belgravia areas.
A good brother told me that he once saw the boys high as a kite by Avondale and it came to me as no surprise that Bob Jnr was nabbed cruising down Second Street Extension the wrong way within the vicinity of their ‘corridors’.
That’s the level of power flex the former first son is exhibiting!
My humble opinion is these “rich kids” run Harare like it’s New York.
They splash dollars in uptown clubs like confetti, pop bottles like its water and bankroll the lifestyle with alleged drug profits.
When I was going through the police statement ,I noticed that suspects are all under 40 which means if they walk away free (as many expect), they will only be sharpening their game when “life begins at 40.”
Pablo Escobar was just 26 when he jumped from petty hustles to running empires. Bob Jnr is 33. Connect the dots.
Bob Jnr has a history of petty crimes like smashing cars at parties and stuff.
I have watched Pablo and El Chapo movies and how Bob Jnr is rolling ngaimiswe(stop him ) he must stop it like his mother always said when she was still in the levers of power just like Marie Antoinette (if you have read History you know!)
The busted squad reads like a who’s who of uptown’s “young moolah” circle.
Twenty eight year old Mitchel Jackson ( not Michael), Simbarashe Kaseke (37),Wellington Ncube (19),
Phillip Munetsi Chiyangwa (26) and Tanaka Kashamba (25).
All of them are sons of the “big boys” about town.
While the NPA submits that only two grammes were found, police sang a different tune.
In a statement from police Spokesperson Paul Nyathi they listed Indo Hybrid dagga (skunk) sachets and six ecstasy pills from the haul. Court submissions also mentioned Rizla papers, a dagga crusher and Bob Jnr’s sling bag full of “goodies.”
When cops handed him the seizure receipt, Bob Jnr is said to have refused to sign according to court records.
That is classic Mugabe style defiance, just like his old man refusing to bow out with that infamous “Asante Sana” speech where VP Chiwenga gave him a strong look ,I watched it on telly!
A colleague was saying the vetting officer was none other than his cousin Michael Mugabe, I know the chap from kumaStones in Highfield and he is the late Bob look alike and former Chief Law officer.
Anyway that’s immaterial but my point is in that setup,the writing is on the wall that the boy is likely to walk away with just a fine a precedent set on the ruling that was handed down to those 14 Chinese nationals who were nabbed living lavida loca’ along Knightsbridge Road in Highlands while Mbare boys like Ras Pompy rot for six months in Chikurubi.
George Orwell said it best when he said “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”
But still the end game is “shiri inozongofa’.(Time will tell)
Even Isabel Dos Santos who was daughter of Angola’s ruler for 38 years had the same power flex traits but she tumbled from grace(not Mugabe) to grass!
Bail ruling is today..we wait.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it..peace out!
# Say no to drugs
