A Durban man who attempted to board a flight from Zimbabwe to Johannesburg on Sunday, was arrested after airport scanners detected five rounds of ammunition in his bag.
Soon after his arrest at the Robert Mugabe International Airport, Cuan Reed Govender, 25, was accused of being the "John Doe" who had reported a bomb at the Victoria Falls International Airport on Friday.
Flights at the airport were suspended following the alleged bomb threat.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was aboard his Falcon 7X, made a U-turn back to Harare. He was on his way to Victoria Falls to address the opening of the 56th UN Economic Commission for Africa.
Govender’s arrest was confirmed by Mnangagwa’s spokesperson, George Charamba, on X.
“Our security services have traced the so-called John Doe to one Cuan Reed Govender, a national of a neighbouring country,” said Charamba on X.
He said the airport authorities found bullets in Govender’s luggage before initiating an investigation, which was at "the centre of state security operations".
“In the interest of ongoing operations, we leave it at that for now. We thank Zimbabweans for remaining calm while operations were underway. We hope to reach closure very soon,” he said.
However, it emerged that Govender had only been charged with being in unlawful possession of ammunition when he appeared in the Harare Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
He pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined R5 700 (US $300) or three months in jail.
Oscar Makanga, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of Zimbabwe, said late yesterday afternoon that Govender had paid the fine and would not serve prison time in Zimbabwe.
He said it had been found that the two cases might not be linked.
Makanga said the NPA had not received any case or docket relating to the bomb threat. He confirmed that the court was not dealing with the matter.
Govender is expected to return to South Africa tomorrow.
The father of one, who is from Amanzimtoti, is employed by Wiremit Private Limited, in Zimbabwe, as a general manager, and was visiting the country for the first time. He had arrived about a week prior to his arrest.
According to news reports from Zimbabwe media house, Bulawayo24, prosecutor Berlinda Chimuka told the court that on Friday around 12.50pm, Govender arrived at the airport with the intention to board a flight to South Africa.
“He was carrying a blue suitcase and a black satchel. When he placed his luggage on the screening machine, the machine detected five live ammunition rounds.
“This was reported to the police and his luggage was physically searched leading to his arrest and the subsequent recovery of the five.45 live rounds in one of the pockets of his satchel,” said the report.
Govender did not have a valid firearm certificate or any lawful authority to have the ammunition in his possession. His family declined to comment on the matter.
However, according to news website ZimLive, Govender told Zimbabwean investigators that his left hand had been amputated in 2020 after he had sustained injuries during an armed robbery.
He claimed the blue bag in which the bullets were found at the airport, was the same one he had used when he went to the shooting range - after buying a gun to defend himself. He said he must have forgotten to remove the bullets.
Johan Burger, an independent crime and policing consultant, said the arrest underlined that Zimbabwean airport security was functioning optimally.
"Since the 9/11 attack at the World Trade Centre in the United States, airport security around the world has been beefed up. By now passengers know that when they are travelling, there are strict searches.
"This arrest shows us how efficient airport authorities have to be. We also generally hear of breaches at airports regarding drugs or counterfeit money but not so far as carrying ammunition and firearms for that matter."
He said Govender could now be "red flagged" at airports.
"There is sophisticated technology at airports to red flag 'wanted' people. Following his arrest, his name could be distributed to security agencies and airports throughout the world, so life could become difficult."
Burger said incidents like these could also damage the South African brand.
"South Africa already has high incidents of serious and violent crime and this has been on the increase for more than a decade. An incident like this (Govender's arrest) could also lead to a decline in public trust in other countries."