Zimbabwean Vice President's wife charged for attempting to murder him

Zimbabwe Vice President Constantino Chiwenga's wife, Mary Mubaiwa was taken into custody on December 16 after a hearing in court based on the charges of fraud, money-laundering and attempted murder of her husband. According to reports, Mubaiwa was arrested by the anti-graft commission on December 14.

According to reports, Mubaiwa had initially taken Chiwenga to a hotel, refusing to take him to a hospital for the necessary medical attention until she was forced to let him being taken away to a hospital by his aides.

Mubaiwa had malicious intent

The lawyers went on to say that Mubaiwa had malicious intent when she went to the hospital to check on her husband, dismissing his security detail and saying that she wanted to have a conversation with Chiwenga in private. According to reports, once the security personnel left, Mubaiwa removed and intravenous line along with a catheter that led to the Vice President bleeding profusely.

Besides, it was said that she then helped Chiwenga off the bed before holding him by the hand, walking him outside the hospital ward before she was confronted by his security detail standing outside the door. The Vice President had travelled to South Africa in order to be treated for an issue that remains undisclosed before he was transferred to a Chinese hospital for further treatment on a blocked oesophagus.

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Political agenda?

Chiwenga's wife was arrested by authorities on December 14. Mary Mubaiwa was charged with money laundering, fraud, and violation of exchange control regulations. According to the spokesperson of Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) John Makamure, Mubaiwa will be part of a court hearing on December 16. ZACC was appointed by Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2019 to tackle the corruption at the highest level.

Reportedly, an internal ZACC memorandum of the charges which were seen by an international media outlet, showed between October 2018 and May 2019 that Mubaiwa had been accused of unlawfully transferring nearly $919,000 to South Africa under the guise of imported goods. The timing of her arrest fanned another set of speculations as recent media reports stated that she was on the path of a divorce with Chiwenga. The Zacc memo also accused Mubaiwa of obtaining a certificate of marriage without her husband's consent when he was ill. They both have been married under the Zimbabwean customary law since 2011.

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(With inputs from agencies)