A CHINESE ship carrying weapons for the Zimbabwean government has fled South African waters before a sequestration order could be placed on its cargo.
Germany's Central Bank sought the cargo of the An Yue Jiang as compensation for non-repayment of a £30 million loan made in 2000 to shore up the collapsing state-owned Zimbabwe Iron & Steel Corp, the Johannesburg-based Sunday Times reported yesterday.
The An Yue Jiang is carrying 77 tonnes of weapons for Robert Mugabe's security forces. The confiscation documents could not be served because the An Yue Jiang, lying ten miles off the Indian Ocean port of Durban since 14 April, lifted anchor and fled into international waters on Friday night as a sheriff approached with a separate high court order for the weapons to be impounded. The separate order was granted to local human rights lawyers who argued that arms for Zimbabwe should not be transported through South Africa.
The ship was last reported to be heading for Angola, whose president, Eduardo dos Santos, is close to Mr Mugabe. |