Freeman Denies Criminal Involvement Amid Alleged Ties With Slain Suspected Armed Robber Godknows Machingura
Musician Freeman, whose real name is Energy Sylvester Chizanga, said that he is not an armed robber or involved in any criminal activity.
This comes after pictures emerged in which Freeman posed with Godknows Machingura, a suspected armed robber who was allegedly shot dead by detectives during a shootout in Harare recently.
Freeman’s camp said that his involvement with Machingura, who was a music promoter in South Africa, was purely on showbiz business.
H-Metro cited the musician as saying he first knew Machingura in 2017 when he promoted his first show in Durban, South Africa.
Just like other local artists, Freeman performed in South Africa courtesy of the late Machingura, insisted his camp.
Freeman, through his lawyer Dumisani Mthombeni, was cited as saying he only posted Machingura on his social media platforms as an appreciation after he sponsored one of his music videos “Unobvuma Here”, which features Nox.
Machingura, who was based in Durban, reportedly promoted several musicians from Zimbabwe and had been posting photos with them on his social media platforms.
In 2021 a picture of Freeman and Charles Chirara, one of the three armed robbers gunned down by former detective Joseph Nemaisa during a Chadcombe shoot-out circulated on social media.
The shootout occurred soon after the release of Freeman’s album “Robbery”, prompting detectives from the CID Homicide Section to summon him (Freeman) in for questioning to explain his association with the criminals.
Freeman said that he knew Chirara, who he said was his fan and voluntary show bouncer, but didn’t know that he was a robber.
In the latest incident, Machingura (44) was allegedly part of a gang of criminals which also included three South African nationals.
In a recent statement, Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said that Machingura and a South African national Jabulani Ngobeni (45) were fatally shot during a shootout with detectives in Arcadia, Harare.
Machingura was reportedly in Shamva monitoring the movement of their target before he was lured to Harare where the shootout ensued.
According to The Standard, Machingura was a well-known socialite and music promoter who lived a lavish life.
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