It was a business transaction with Ginimbi- says Mutumwa Mawere

In December 2018, Mutumwa Mawere was quoted by iHarare saying, “I paid R340,000 for gas which gas was supplied to his company, Pioneer Gas and delivered to Zimbabwe and sold. After selling, the profit was supposed to be shared with the principal being used to buy new gas. Little did I know I was converted into a bank. He then said it was a loan without security and paid a bit.” Mawere alleges.

These are the same words he said to me this morning as we discussed the money that he is owed by the late fellow businessman, Genius Kadungure aka Ginimbi.

Apparently, in 2018, Ginimbi tweeted, ‘Good morning ‘ and Mawere grabbed the opportunity to ask for his money back, “Please can you pay what you owe. I am not the govt of Zimbabwe. My patience is running out.” he replied to Ginimbi’s tweet. It is alleged that Ginimbi then deleted his Twitter account shortly after that.

In this morning’s interview, Mawere stated that it was a business transaction that Ginimbi was simply supposed to honour while he was alive, now that he is late, it is now in the past and the past should be buried with Ginimbi. Mawere says that he is not bitter but, obviously, this will affect any further businesses he might have in the future. “Suppose a young man will approach me in the future and ask me to assist him in his tomato selling business. How do you think my response will be? It could be, I will pay the supplier, after selling, you can pay me from your profits and also use the money to buy new stock for sale. But, it just might be something totally different.”

The Ginimbi-Mawere money story is nothing new, but what lesson can we draw from it? How is it possible that a man with Ginimbi’s wealth, the flamboyant life he lived, the glamorous US$12m mansion and fast luxurious cars failed to pay a R340 000 debt?

In Shona we say, ‘yafa yakaloader’…. May his soul rest in peace.