Harare: Zimbabwe’s First Lady Grace Mugabe is allegedly involved in a nasty legal fight with Jamal Joseph Hamed, a gem trader in the United Arab Emirates, over a diamond ring worth $1.35 million, reports Rough & Polished.
The Source news agency claimed that according to Hamed’s legal papers, Mrs Mugabe placed an order for a $1.35 million 10 carat diamond in April 2015.
A payment was then made in May 2016, but she later changed her mind before taking delivery of the diamond.
“The second respondent (Mrs Mugabe) placed an order for a diamond with my daughter in Dubai, which she indicated her husband wanted to buy her for their anniversary,” Hamed deposed in an affidavit in a case he is suing the first lady, her son and an aide for invading three of his Harare properties in a bid to force him to reverse the diamond deal.
“The transfer was ultimately done in May 2016 and the diamond was tendered to the second respondent (Mrs Mugabe) in Dubai.
“Surprisingly, the second respondent refused to take delivery of the diamond and instead demanded a full remand in Dubai.”
The Source further reported that Hamed explained to Mrs Mugabe that costs had been incurred in sourcing and polishing the diamond.
He said should they make a refund it would have been back into the Zimbabwe account from which the transfer had been done to avoid charges of externalisation of funds.
“Regrettably, instead of approaching my legal practitioner with repayment proposals to be incorporated into an agreement, or accepting tender of the diamond, the…respondents commenced a reign of terror and harassment where I was verbally threatened, harassed, insulted and told that I could not anything to them as they are in fact ‘Zimbabwe’,” said Hamed.
