Thread by @MwangiMaina_

Kenya's Trade Minister @HonMoses_Kuria was in Doha, Qatar last week for an official mission. Interestingly he was escorted by two mysterious #Belarusian businessmen accused of engaging in arms deals in Africa. They were designated as "Advisors-Gulf Countries" during the trip

These two powerful brokers, Aleksandr ZINGMAN and OLEG VODCHITS were arrested in Lubumbashi in 2021 on charges of arms trafficking. The have previously had links with presidents Joseph Kabila, Edward Lungu and Emerson Mnangagwa.

What exactly are they doing in Kenya?

ALEXANDER Zingman, the influential businessman with close ties to Europe's last dictator Alexander Lukashenko has served as #Zimbabwe’s honorary consul in Belarus since around early 2019 & has been involved in Deals lacking transparency and accountability
theafricareport.com/281271/zimbabw…

PANDORA PAPERS: A top Belarusian official negotiated a gold mining venture with Zimbabwe in 2018 — but behind a veil of offshores, it was his own son who stood to benefit. Aleksandr ZINGMAN featured in this report. via @OCCRP

occrp.org/en/the-pandora…

South Africa's @dailymaverick coverage on the arrest of Alexander ZINGMAN, alleged arms dealer in Lubumbashi, DRC last year (2021).

dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-0…

Why would a top Belarusian businessman want to become an ''honorary consul' in Africa?

Officially, this is not a diplomatic job. However, such a title gives certain preferences.

Is an honorary consul just a figurehead?

Not exactly. Honorary consuls are not concerned with issues of citizenship and visas, although they can fulfill some functions of "ordinary" consuls: organizing events, legalizing documents, helping people who are in a difficult situation in their country.

The main purpose of their work is to promote relations between countries.

According to the Vienna Convention, honorary consul has certain immunities and guarantees. I.e, a person cannot be held administratively or judicially liable for his/her activities in this role.
google.com/amp/s/amp.euro…

Zingman is absent from the Belarusian media field, but the African media call him a "successful businessman". However, the attitude to him is also ambiguous: the information about Zingman's quite close contacts with the former president of Zambia caused serious criticism.

Gold, diamonds and strong friendship

Read more about ZINGMAN's camaraderie with African Presidents and the shady deals that was signed while toasting glass of wines.

google.com/amp/s/amp.euro…

ZINGMAN owns AFTRADE, a company that distributes agricultural and mining equipment in Africa. AFTRADE has agricultural deals with several African countries to provide tractors and other farming machinery, as well as to provide training in modern farming techniques.