Thamer Said Ahmed al Shanfari

Loucas's son Adonis who runs Petra Diamonds narrowly avoided entanglement with the Omani businessman Thamer el Shanfari in a Congo-Kinshasa diamond mine almost two decades ago...

His network of white moguls includes Omani tycoon Thamer Said Ahmed al Shanfari who has funded ZANU-PF in the past (AC Vol 46 No 16 Full circle); Billy Rautenbach who owns Zimbabwe's sole ethanol plant (AC Vol 53 No 4 The trouble after Katumba); John Bredenkamp who provided a helicopter that transported Mnangagwa's allies in 2004 during a plot to take up positions in the ZANU-PF Praesidium under what later became known as the Tsholotsho Declaration (AC Vol 45 No 25 A heartbeat away and AC Vol 41 No 11 Glittering prizes from the war); and the controversial British tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten (AC Vol 55 No 7 Grace under fire)...

In return for Zimbabwe's military assistance Kabila offered leases on diamond fields and President Robert Mugabe's government went into partnership with Omani trader Thamer bin Saeed al Shanfari (AC Vol 41 No 11 Glittering prizes from the war)...

Last month saw yet another final episode to the saga of Sengamines a joint venture set up by Omani businessman Thamer al Shanfari with the Zimbabwe Defence Force and the Kinshasa government to exploit three kimberlite diamond mines in Kasai...

Then Sengamines was still under the control of Omani businessman Thamer al Shanfari and Oryx Natural Resources...

Oryx has recently been restructured with its fiery former Chief Executive Thamer al Shanfari an Omani sidelined while Director Geoffrey White leads negotiations for a marketing agreement with diamond conglomerate De Beers...

After vehemently denying The Independent and the UN Panel's charges and claiming that they would produce documents to refute them Oryx Directors Thamer al Shanfari and Geoffrey White agreed in February to drop the action against The Independent and pay £175 000 which will help defray the newspaper's legal costs...

But Mnangagwa has retained some formidable business friends such as the former Finance Director of the Rhodesian Defence Force and now BAE Systems (British Aerospace) agent for Southern Africa John Bredenkamp and Omani magnate Thamer al-Shanfari...

But Mnangagwa has retained some formidable business friends such as the former Finance Director of the Rhodesian Defence Force and now BAE Systems (British Aerospace) agent for Southern Africa John Bredenkamp and Omani magnate Thamer al-Shanfari...