HARARE – Police are investigating after suspected human remains were uncovered during renovations at the Harare offices of Better Brands, a gold mining and marketing company owned by Mabvuku MP Scott Sakupwanya, Zimlive has reported.
A construction worker was using an excavator to uproot a tree at the property on Churchill Road in Avondale when he dug up what appeared to be human bones, police said.
Avondale police were called to the scene and as part of the investigation, bone samples were taken from the site and referred to a forensic lab for DNA analysis.
An internal police memo seen by ZimLive said Sakupwanya “recently bought the premises,” previously occupied by a company called Afrihype Nyakatsanga Safari, which has relocated to South Africa.
The DNA testing to establish if the bones are human remains could take several weeks.
Questions left for Sakupwanya had not been answered.
Sakupwanya’s Better Brands claims to supply half of all gold deliveries to official buyer, Fidelity. In 2023, Better Brands delivered 13 tonnes of gold to Fidelity. That would be just short of half of the total of 30.1 tonnes sold to Fidelity.
The discovery of the suspected human remains has raised a number of questions about the history of the property and the activities that may have taken place there in the past.
The police are currently investigating the matter and are working to determine the identity of the remains and the circumstances surrounding their discovery.
The discovery of the suspected human remains has also raised concerns about the safety of the property and the potential for further discoveries.
The police have urged anyone with information about the property or the activities that may have taken place there in the past to come forward and assist with their investigation.
The discovery of the suspected human remains has cast a dark shadow over Sakupwanya’s business empire and his political career.
Sakupwanya is a prominent figure in the ruling Zanu PF party and is known for his close ties to President Emmerson Mnangagwa. He is an indirect beneficiary of Sengezo Tshabangu’s recalls of CCC officials who won the 2023 general elections as members of parliament before being controversially recalled by the self-styled interim secretary-general of the opposition party. Scott initially lost the election to CCC’s Munyaradzi Febion Kufahahakutizwi before he was recalled by Tsvabangu.
