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Senior Court Reporter
Harare regional magistrate Mrs Learnmore Mapiye is today expected to deliver a judgment in the matter in which Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) president, Henrietta Rushwaya, is being charged for offering a bribe to an airport official on the day she allegedly attempted to smuggle 6kg of gold out of the country in October 2020.
Through her lawyer Mr Peter Patisani, Rushwaya denied the charges saying she never offered anyone a bribe on the day in question as she had no intentions to smuggle the gold.
Rushwaya told the court that she only carried a wrong bag to the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
A fortnight ago, Mrs Mapiye rejected her application for discharge at the close of the State case and ordered her to explain what she did soon after the airport officials discovered she was in possession of gold.
In her defence case, Rushwaya insisted that she never offered a bribe to smuggle the said gold, as she was a gold buying agent for Fidelity Printers and Refiners with a gold buying licence.
Rushwaya told the court that if she had intentions to smuggle gold, she would have not volunteered to go through the security scanning point after being ushered by the airport officials to use the VIP section.
She said she advised airport officials, including Owen Sibanda whom she allegedly offered the bribe, that she had picked a wrong bag from home.
Rushwaya said upon her arrest, she cooperated with law enforcement agents at all material times.
She told the court that the police went to take the other bag, which she claims is similar to the one she was found with at the airport, during the time she was in remand prison.
Rushwaya said the police were still in custody of the two similar bags since 2020.
Online Reporter