Marry Mubaiwa, the embattled ex-wife of Zimbabwe’s Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has suffered another major blow after the High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, ordered the forfeiture of her luxury assets linked to alleged criminal activity.The forfeiture order was initially granted by Justice JJ Strijdom on December 5 2022, but was only disclosed this week by Zimbabwe’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).Mubaiwa has been battling ill-health and a string of criminal charges and she now loses ownership of a lavish property in the upscale Pretoria suburb of Sterrewag as well as two high-end Range Rover SUVs. The assets had been under a preservation order since February 2022 with one of the vehicles already sold at auction.Proceeds of the sale are set to be transferred to an undisclosed victim, according to the NPA.Once a prominent businesswoman and society figure, Mubaiwa has faced a dramatic fall from grace since her 2019 arrest. Among the most sensational of the allegations is the attempted murder of then husband Chiwenga, who accused her of trying to kill him while he was hospitalised in South Africa by forcefully removing his life support lines.The forfeiture ruling intensifies the legal pressure on Mubaiwa who is already entangled in ongoing court cases involving fraud, money laundering, externalisation of funds and attempted murder.Her poor health has repeatedly delayed the proceedings but authorities remain determined to pursue justice.The NPA hailed the South African court’s decision as a “landmark demonstration” of the effectiveness of cross-border legal cooperation within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and praised South Africa’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) for its professional handling of the matter.“This ruling sends a strong regional message: illicit wealth will find no sanctuary,” the NPA stated, noting that the judgement aligns with international anti-corruption efforts under frameworks such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and the SADC Protocol Against Corruption,” said NPA in a statement released Monday.Mubaiwa is a former model and his ‘trophy ex- husbands’ include footie star Shingi Kawondera and businessman Terry Mandizha who fathered her first daughter in a ‘hat trick’ of marriages.
Source: Express Mail Zim
