A Harare man arrested last year for smuggling two Ford Ranger vehicles and affixing them with number plates from the President’s Office is controversial prophet Uebert Angel's aide.
Angel, the founder of Spirit Embassy, is President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Presidential Envoy and Ambassador at Large to Europe and the Americas (OPEAAL).
Terrance Madiro was part of a syndicate that included Aleck Dzepatsva, Brian Matongo and Elvis Jieman that was involved in smuggling different types of high-end cars from South Africa.
They allegedly fraudulently acquired exempted number plates from the Office of the President and Cabinet to avoid paying customs duty as well as enabling free passage at tollgates and police roadblocks.
Madiro, whose case has been separated from his co-accused, will be back in court for trial on 10 April.
His co-accused are back in court on 10 March.
Madiro is accused of smuggling a white Ford Ranger vehicle double cab in 2020, chassis Number AFAPXXMJ2PHK28914.
He allegedly affixed registration number AFB 5575 belonging to the Fleet of Office of the President to the vehicle.
Madiro obtained the number plates from Brezhnev Mutambo who is believed to have been employed by the Department of the President’s Office.
Madiro gave the car to his ex-wife Francisca Madiro for use in transporting their children to and from school.
He smuggled another Ford Raptor Ranger double cab in July 2023 from South Africa and fitted them with registration numbers, AGE 0461 from the Office of the President according to court papers.
Both vehicles were not found in the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority and Vehicle Registry databases.
Investigations by The Standard have proven that Madiro, who is listed in court papers as Sentrigo Security, is linked to Angel where he is identified as the chief protocol officer in the cleric’s office, according to the website for the Presidential Envoy and Ambassador at Large to Europe and the Americas.
A Facebook account under the name of Terrence Madiro was updated in 2014 with a picture of Angel and his wife, showing the close connections between the two.
Madiro, conveniently referred to as Director of Steelingtag Investments and never as Angel's protocol officer in court papers, has also been arraigned for trial on allegations of duping Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) Spokesperson, Tinashe Farawo, of US$7 500 in a botched partnership with Steelingtag Investments to purchase maize.
Farawo and his brother engaged Madiro to buy maize and package it as maize meal for resale.
They paid US$ 7,500 as initial capital within two weeks, but the deal did not materialise, leading to legal battles.
Madiro’s boss, Angel, has never been far from controversy either.
Investigations by The Standard reveal that Angel’s British and Zimbabweans passports have different dates of birth.
According to his British passport, Angel was born on 4 March 1972.
His Zimbabwean passport says he was born on 06 September 1978.
According to his British passport, Angel was born on 4 March 1972, while on his Zimbabwean passport, he was born on 06 September 1978.
According to his new British passport (number 124596092) obtained on September 9, 2021, which expires on September 9, 2031, Angel was born on 04 March 1972, six years older than the date of birth on his new Zimbabwean diplomatic passport ( AD007156) which records that he was born on 06 September 1978.
The 04 March 1972 date of birth on his new British passport is consistent with the one used on his old British passport, number 464932598, issued by the United Kingdom Identity and Passport Service (IPS) in 2009. The passport expired on 6 November 2019.
His new diplomatic Zimbabwean passport was issued on April 20, 2021, and expires on 10 April 2026. This passport, obtained after he was appointed ambassador, has a September 06, 1978, date of birth - six years younger than his British age.
In March last year, the Standard revealed that Angel has two identity documents while his British passport has a different date of birth, raising serious questions about his integrity.
His first ID, with registration number 83-099297X83, was issued at the Zaka registry offices in Masvingo in 1996 while the second one, with the registration number 29-195587H83, was obtained in Gweru in the Midlands a year later.
The two identity documents showed that Angel Snr was born on September 06, 1978, but the ID numbers are different.
In such circumstances, the second ID is regarded as invalid, but startling details have shown that he used the 1997 ID to secure a passport in Zimbabwe, passport number ZE 306043, which he ordinarily should have used to go to the United Kingdom.
The date of birth on his British particulars is not consistent with the one on his two Zimbabwean identity cards 83-099297X83 and 29-195587H83 as well as birth certificate number NDG 2903-85
Angel featured predominantly in a documentary, Gold Mafia, by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) last year.
The documentary shed light on the illicit gold deals in Zimbabwe and money laundering involving powerful figures in the country, including President Mnangagwa and his wife, First Lady, Auxilia Mnangagwa.
Angel was recorded bragging about how close and powerful to facilitate illicit gold dealings.
The documentary implicated Angel, Mnangagwa, his wife, Pedzai "Scott" Sakupwanya, and Henrietta Rushwaya among a long list of the President’s allies.