Nearly R12.5 million (£700,000) in cash was stolen from the home of ousted Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe, a court heard yesterday.
Three suspects including a relative of the former leader are to face trial for theft.
According to court papers, Mugabe, 94, had filled a suitcase with nearly $US1million (R13.4 million) and stashed it in the library of his country home in Zvimba, west of the capital, in 2016. Only $78,000 (R1 million) was found in the bag on January 6 this year.
The three suspects – which include Constancia Mugabe, 50, a relative of the president – appeared before Chinhoyi magistrates’ court and were ordered to return on February 7.
The alleged thieves are accused of spending the money on cars, houses and farm animals.
Mugabe’s whereabouts have been unconfirmed since November when his successor as president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, said the dictator was in Singapore for medical treatment and was unable to walk.
Mugabe’s 37-year reign was marked by state corruption, economic collapse and brutal repression of dissent.