Timba Cleared in Kadoma Rape Case as Documents Allege Plot Linked to Tolrose Mine Dispute – Eduzim News

By A Correspondent| Businessman Patterson Timba was acquitted on rape charges at Kadoma Magistrates’ Court on 30 March 2026, in a case that documents and sources allege was sponsored to defame and humiliate him as part of a 15-year dispute over Tolrose Mine.

The material reviewed alleges that the complainant, described as an unemployed woman, was sponsored by Jameson Rushwaya to hire a watching brief lawyer. Sources further allege the woman was paid as part of hostile mine takeover plans targeting Tolrose Investments, which owns GlenCairn Mine, commonly known as Tolrose Mine. Close sources alleged they witnessed the watching brief demanding outstanding payments from Rushwaya’s team. The documents allege that since her dismissal from Tolrose, the woman has been working as a vendor selling second-hand shoes in Rio.

The acquittal is the latest episode in what court records and correspondence allege is a 15-year pattern where criminal complaints against Timba followed civil rulings on mine ownership. The documents allege Jameson Rushwaya has been using the influence of his brother Martin Rushwaya and Henrietta Rushwaya during the dispute.

A High Court consent order allegedly confirmed Timba as majority shareholder of Tolrose Investments with 67 percent, while Rushwaya held 23 percent. The documents allege Rushwaya’s remaining stake was later extinguished through judicial execution proceedings initiated by Tetrad Investment Bank pursuant to a court order.

Ministry of Mines determinations in 2016, 2018 and 2025 allegedly reaffirmed that Tolrose Investments held the mining rights, and that Rushwaya and his company held no mining rights at Tolrose. Section 348 of the Mines and Minerals Act was allegedly invoked to request police assistance in removing illegal miners.

Despite this, documents allege the conflict migrated into criminal process. On 8 July 2010, Timba was allegedly arrested by Detective Assistant Inspector Chikupo on allegations of attempting to defraud Rushwaya and his spouse. This allegedly occurred days after an Urgent High Court Application (Case No. HC 4187/10) by the Rushwayas was dismissed on 29 June 2010 by Justice Bharat Patel. The material alleges arrests proceeded after the then Attorney-General had declined to prosecute.

On 4 August 2012, a fatal shooting allegedly occurred at Tolrose Mine during an attempted takeover. One person, Shepherd Mpofu, died. Sixty security personnel were initially charged with murder; six were indicted and all were acquitted in October 2015. A 2012 ballistics report allegedly concluded firearms from the security company engaged by Timba were not responsible for the fatal shot. The documents allege firearms linked to security personnel aligned to Rushwaya were not subjected to equivalent examination.

A 9 January 2018 complaint to Kadoma police alleged a “forceful entry” on 7 January 2018, when Rushwaya and “a group of known criminals” allegedly invaded the mine at 21:00 hours and displaced management. Police allegedly responded after six hours. The complaint alleges the group established control of key points and that some individuals had previously assaulted employees and robbed the mine at gunpoint.

The investigation alleges complaints first recorded by CID were later duplicated at Kadoma Central Police Station, creating separate dockets on identical facts. Arrests were allegedly executed across provincial lines. Sources allege that after a late-2025 High Court application to regain mine access was dismissed, arrests targeting Timba intensified.

The material frames the 15-year sequence as an alleged “prosecutorial architecture” where corporate disputes were reframed as criminal allegations despite ownership being settled by courts and regulators.

Attempts to reach Jameson Rushwaya, Martin Rushwaya, Henrietta Rushwaya, ZRP, and Patterson Timba for comment were unsuccessful at the time of publication.

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