Ex-president Robert Mugabe’s son in law, Simba Chikore reportedly described himself as a “simple young Zimbabwean man”, who struggled to finance his own education while studying in the United States.
Chikore, who claimed that he was raised by God-fearing parents, was married to Mugabe’s daughter Bona in 2014.
Chikore said that he had to take up odd jobs in the US in order to pursue his studies in aviation.
Simba said he worked in hotels, cleaning toilets, carrying people’s bags, being a handyman, he also worked in industries carrying heavy things like cement, detergents.
He said that after acquiring his degree, he worked for various airline companies, which included Air Zimbabwe and Qatar Airways, before eventually going back to the southern African nation’s airline where he worked as its Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Chikore’s appointment at Air Zimbabwe caused an uproar as Mugabe’s critics believed he did not have the necessary qualifications for the job. Others, like the opposition Movement For Democratic Change (MDC) party spokesperson said that the move confirmed that the Mugabe dynasty had “virtually privatised the state”.
In recent months, Chikore’s name has again been at the centre of a raging debate over a Zimbabwe Airways deal, which many believed was being financed by his in-laws.
He has, however, denied the reports, saying that he was “only doing a service to his country and is not on a self-enrichment exercise”.
