Evelyn Bengesa faced charges for externalizing cash

Nearly three-quarters of a US$660,000 home sale allegedly wound up stuffed in bags and walked across a border, and Stanbic Bank Botswana killed the whole plan.

Evelyn Bengesa's property cash-out

• Evelyn Sarah Bengesa allegedly offloaded her Mount Pleasant pad for US$660,000.
• Bengesa is 65 and appeared before magistrate Sheila Mupindu.
• Her Harare residence sat at 16 Prices Avenue.
• Externalizing funds is the charge she faces.

Border run with bags of cash

• Bengesa allegedly hauled US$480,000 through Plumtree Border Post.
• September 16, 2025, was the alleged crossing date.
• Francistown was her reported destination in Botswana.
• Nobody at the border flagged the stash.

Stanbic Bank dropped the hammer

• Her company account at Stanbic Bank Botswana received the deposit.
• Massive transaction size tripped automatic red flags.
• Bengesa claimed the funds came from a legit sale.
• Interpol got looped in after the bank escalated.

Coming back sealed her fate

• Frozen funds forced Bengesa back to Zimbabwe.
• Authorities grabbed her on arrival, acting on Interpol's probe.
• Bail landed at just US$1,000 with tight restrictions.
• Both her American and Zimbabwean passports were surrendered.