President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba has clarified that United Kingdom-based Zimbabwean cleric Uebert Angel has not been fired.
President Mnangagwa’s biographer Eddie Cross told Al Jazeera that Uebert Angel had been stripped of his diplomatic status.
Cross, a former member of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Monetary Policy Committee also added that Uebert Angel will likely face jail time for his alleged involvement in gold smuggling and money laundering.
“Well, I can tell you that the so-called Pastor. The guy who claimed to be a Christian Pastor has been stripped of his diplomatic passport. In fact, he has had his passport removed from him and the President has stripped him of all status. He might in fact face jail time,” Eddie Cross told Al Jazeera.
In the same interview with Al Jazeera, Eddie Cross also claimed that a prominent white gold dealer, believed to be Ewan Macmillan, had skipped the country with his family.
“I know that one of the big white gold traders has fled the country with his family. I would imagine other elements inside that story against which action will be taken,” Cross said.
Cross’ claims came in the wake of an explosive documentary filmed by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit.
In the first episode of the documentary, Uebert Angel was caught on camera by undercover Al Jazeera reporters, who posed as Chinese criminals, disclosing his ability to use his diplomatic immunity to smuggle substantial amounts of illicit money into Zimbabwe.
George Charamba Clarifies Following News Uebert Angel Was Fired
On Friday, George Charamba took to Twitter to provide clarity on whether Uebert Angel had been dismissed or not.
Charamba confirmed that Uebert Angel is still Zimbabwe’s Presidential Envoy and Ambassador at large, and that President Mnangagwa has not initiated any action to terminate his appointment.
Read on for George Charamba’s statement on the issue:
CLARIFYING ON THE STATUS OF AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE HUBERT ANGEL:
Following claims circulating in the social media that Zimbabwe’s Ambassador-at-Large, Ambassador Hubert Angel has been stripped of his ambassadorial status, kindly be advised that His Excellency the President, Dr ED who is the sole appointing authority of all Ambassadors representing the State of Zimbabwe, HAS NOT TAKEN SUCH A STEP. The Ambassador – at -Large remains in that status and executing all his duties as outlined at the time of his appointment. Please be so advised.
-NewsHawks