ZIMBABWE’S social media went into a meltdown after self-proclaimed inventor and entrepreneur Maxwell Sangulani Chikumbutso, who was once a guest at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, was paraded before President Emmerson Mnangagwa at State House on Tuesday.
Chikumbutso was showcasing his alleged latest inventions, including what he claimed to be the world’s first self-powering vehicles and motorbikes that run on radio waves.
It has since emerged that Chikumbutso was arrested in 2018 on six counts of armed robbery alongside five accomplices.
In his bail application, when he was being represented by Admire Rubaya that year, Chikumbutso denied involvement in any of the offences.
He told Justice Roger Manyangadze Foroma that he was operating a successful company pioneering new technology and inventions.
He also claimed that he was famous for good work and had substantial assets in Zimbabwe.
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Justice Foroma said although Chikumbutso claimed that he had substantial assets comprising movable and immovable property, he had failed to provide a single title deed as an exhibit in court.
“He further argued that he is operating a successful company pioneering new technology and inventions and is famous for the good work he is involved in and that he has substantial assets in Zimbabwe, including immovable properties, yet not a single deed of transfer was produced or referred to as proof,” Justice Foroma said in his ruling.
The State opposed bail saying among the firearms that were recovered by the police, one belonged to Chikumbutso.
The firearm recovered from Chikumbutso was unlicensed and was found in the vehicle of a co-accused who claimed he had given him a lift and he allegedly forgot it.
Justice Foroma denied Chikumbutso bail saying he was not satisfied that the possession of the firearm whether by him or his co-accused was not innocent considering it was found in the vehicle belonging to his co-accused.
The trial resumed around 2021 but some of Chikumbutso’s accomplices had passed on and only three were left.
NewsDay managed to establish that his alleged accomplices were Harmony Nyati, Polite Madamombe (both deceased), Austin Ncube, Wisdom Tariro and Godfrey Josi.
They were accused of robbing Murefu Service Station in Waterfalls, Harare.
Meanwhile, his appearance at State House sparked a social media frenzy, and he was being labelled a fraud for presenting to Mnangagwa a vehicle invented and manufactured in China.
Zanu PF activist Kudzai Mutisi urged the Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services ministry to pull down a post on its X (formerly Twitter) page.
“The @InfoMinZW and @DeptCommsZW should withdraw their posts and delete them and forget about this embarrassing incident,” he said.
Mutisi also called for the dismissal of all engineers in the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC).
“If there are engineers in OPC, fire them, they are useless people adding no value,” he wrote.
“They were supposed to prevent this embarrassing situation.
“Max invented nothing, whatever he is describing has no scientific basis.
“It’s so clear one does not need a microscope to see the fraudulent claims.
“If he had made such an invention, oil prices would have fallen massively, shares of some IC [internal combustion] vehicle manufacturers would have plummeted, Elon Musk would have shown interest... It would shake the world.”
Award-winning journalist Hopewell Chin’ono disparaged Mnangagwa for hosting Chikumbutso during his annual leave.
“So Emmerson Mnangagwa came out of his leave to preside over a ceremony based on lies?” Chin’ono posted on X.
“This is what happens when you surround yourself with useless minds, appointing them solely because they are relatives or friends.
“It has been long proven that the claim of developing a self-powering electric vehicle that operates without fuel, recharging, or external input, purportedly powered entirely by radio waves, is false.
“Why do we embarrass ourselves like this?”
He flagged the parade as a plan to loot public funds under the pretext of funding this lie.
“Sadly, this is not new in Zimbabwe. The whole government believed that diesel can ooze out of a rock and they gave the conwoman money, a farm and cars,” Chin’ono said.
“What a useless bunch of people we have in power, incorrigible and archaic.”
Mnangagwa’s communications team posted several pictures of Chikumbutso showing off his “inventions” to an enthralled Mnangagwa at State House.