Grace Mugabe's son's Rolls Royces 'bought in SA'
A South African-registered cargo career loaded with expensive luxury cars turned heads in Harare on Friday and there was speculation that the Rolls Royce vehicles it was carrying belonged to one of many local tenderpreneurs.
This was until a video of Grace Mugabe’s son Russell Gorereza and friends was leaked on social media - revealing Gorereza’s latest acquisitions.
Sources told TimesLIVE the two Rolls Royce Wraiths were bought in Sandton and would join Gorereza’s growing fleet of luxury cars.
Gorereza is Grace Mugabe's son from her first marriage.
Earlier media reports indicated the vehicles were bought in Europe‚ however sources with knowledge of Gorereza’s business and lifestyle said the cars were imported from South Africa.
The sources said the cars were bought from the Sandton Rolls Royce dealership and came into Zimbabwe through the Beitbridge border post.
"They are brand new and they came from South Africa‚" said one source.
One of the Wraiths is pearl white with a black stripe running over the top.
The second Wraith is a coupe with a black canvas top.
Each of the cars retail for between R5-million and R6-million. The 2017 models of the same cars retail at R8-million.
"A used Rolls Royce costs more than a brand new Bentley. That should tell you something‚" added the source.
Two other people with knowledge of his business confirmed that the cars were bought in Sandton.
A Rolls Royce Sandton spokesperson‚ who requested anonymity‚ said the identity of people who bought vehicles was private information that could not be divulged.
“I cannot tell you if these cars were bought from our dealer. This is private information. We do not know where these cars were bought from.”
An ordinary Zimbabwean wishing to drive the same cars on the roads would have to factor in import duty which is around 75 percent for a brand new car and 110 percent for a used one.
Early this year‚ Gorereza‚ who is known to own a Porsche Cayenne‚ acquired a 2017 Range Rover Sport SVR.
He personalised the cars plates with the letters "RG"‚ which are not only his initials but also those of President Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
Gorereza also has a Range Rover Autobiography and sources say the car was meant to be used by his mother during election campaigns in off-road areas.
His garage is also home to two Mercedes Benzes - a 320 E class and a Brabus ML 500.