Lee Johns an Australian businessman who used to own the Globe Phoenix Mine in Kwekwe was forcibly deported from the country on Tuesday. This follows reports he was locked in a fierce dispute with the Reserve Bank, who through their subsidiary Carslone (Private) Limited had taken over his mine. (Pictured: Lee Johns)Ourcorrespondent Lionel Saungweme reports that Johns was suing the central bank over several as yet undisclosed issues. But before he could get his day in court four men in a metallic brown car abducted him some nine days ago in Harare. Johns was thrown into detention at an undisclosed location for a period of seven days before being conducted through a hurried court process, resulting in the revocation of his residency permit sometime on Monday. On Tuesday 4 plain-clothed policemen in a car driven by a Mr. Chimungu escorted him to the airport and got him on a plane to South Africa. It is not clear whether he managed to get any legal representation during the process. The manner of the hurried deportation has been likened to that of journalist Andrew Meldrum who in May 2003 was illegally expelled after more than 23 years of working in the country.
SWRadio Africa