Wealthy Zim businessman threatens woman in Sandton restraurant
Weekend of drama for Mudzinganyama
South Africa’s Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, has ordered a probe into how Morial Infrastructure Group, owned by Zimbabwean-born businessman Lawrence Chamurwa Mudzinganyama, was awarded a R107 million tender to construct roads in the country.
The department tweeted the minister’s order on the same weekend Mudzinganyama trended on social media.
The businessman went viral after a video taken at Vlamo restaurant in Sandton Gate, Johannesburg, showed him threatening a group of women.
In the footage, which was recorded in the ladies’ powder room, the man is heard saying:
“I will put a bullet in you now. I will murder you now and walk. I can buy this restaurant and own it. You can say no in a nice, respectful way. I’m a wealthy man. You guys are poor ladies.”
The confrontation allegedly started after the women rejected his romantic advances. The women told him he was not allowed in the powder room.
Vlamo Management said the individual is not affiliated with, employed by, or associated with the restaurant. It said immediate action was taken and he was removed from the premises.
The restaurant owner, Mun Manal, has opened a case of intimidation against him.
The Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cluster has urged the victims to come forward and open criminal cases. It said this would allow the Designated Firearms Officer to institute a Section 102 procedure under the Firearms Control Act, which could result in the man being declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Following the video, attention turned to Mudzinganyama’s business interests. He is listed as a director of Morial Infrastructure Group, which received a contract from the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL).
In a statement on X, the Department of Transport said Creecy had instructed the SANRAL board to investigate whether Morial Infrastructure Group was lawfully appointed and whether it is fulfilling all its contractual obligations.
SANRAL confirmed it will comply with the investigation.
The company’s website and Mudzinganyama’s LinkedIn account have since been disabled.