…Says they were detained, passports confiscated, photographed by armed police
More than 20 Zimbabwean visitors who went on to enjoy themselves during the Easter holiday are blaming organiser for a horrible trip.
What looked like an amazing trip turned out to be a nightmare for the visitors after their agent Isizwe Tourism Agency failed to honour the agreement.
They paid each US$640 for the four-day trip.
But sadly they ended up being ejected from their camping lodgings over unpaid bills.
To worsen the situation, they had to use their own money to return home.
According to the victims, they were intimidated by armed police officials from Mozambique.
The trip was courtesy of Tsungai Portia Hungwe and her husband, Martin Chauraya who runs Isizwe Tourism Agency.
When they got to Mozambique the visitors camped at Vilanculos before the partners were arrested for reportedly attempting to sneak them out of Mangal Beach Lodge without paying for their stay.
Some of the victims have since reported the matter at Harare Central Police Stations for fraud under IR 040682.
They departed from Harare at 3 am on March 28 and arrived there the next day.
Portia addressing the victims she said:
“Noone was abducted hapana akadyira mari, vanga vabata bhazi redu. Our bus overstayed so transport had to be sourced for them. Any refunds will be done.
“The trip happened no one was abducted as being said
“People had fun, but panoitika something we tend kuwedzera, subtract. People say these things out of panic.
“Some of the things are now at court since there was an abduction claim.
“We are gravely sorry for any inconvenience caused,” she said.
Portia’s partner, Martin apologised to the victims.
“This serves as a formal and sincere apology to you for the unpleasant experience you had to endure from the first day of the trip to the last checkout day.
“Internal mismanagement should never have resulted in affecting your paid vacation trip.
“This is to confirm that relevant structures were engaged and you will be reimbursed your extra activities amount of $100, as well as transportation costs back to Zimbabwe.
“What transpired during this period and how it transpired is gravely unpleasant on the part of Isizwe Tourism.
“We kindly request you await communication that shall be done by the Legal Council as to how to move forward.
“No words will heal the pain and torment you endured and are enduring. We sincerely apologize for all inconvenience.”
Some victims who spoke to H-Metro said they had mobilized themselves to report the matter.
“We have since mobilized each other to report the matter. The only challenge is that some are in different places.
“We were the victims because we went there to enjoy the trip and we were surprised to see that we were ejected over unpaid money something we were not aware of.
“We each paid US$ 640 each for a Vilanculos Girls Trip from March 28 to 3 April.
“Rather what pained us the most was the money we spent. Most of us saved for months and made sacrifices to give ourselves a break.
“The money is the painful part. We also don’t know if we will be reimbursed for anything.
“Martin sent us, individually apologizing for the unpleasant experience we had to endure from the first day of the trip to last checkout day but we don’t know if they are going to pay us.”
Another victim said:
“A total of 26 people were on the bus. This includes the girls, 2 couples, Portia and her partner, the influencer, and 2 cameramen.
“Of the seven activities promised on the flyer, we only did one. A 7-day itinerary was given to us before the trip.
“Not a single thing on the itinerary was followed and done. We were kicked out of our first place of residence for non-payment.
“The trip organizers attempted to sneak us out of our second place of residence without paying and were arrested.
“The bus we traveled to Mozambique with was impounded and we had to make our own way back to Zimbabwe.”
It is also reported that the duo was temporarily detained after they were taken the day of the victim’s departure.
“For some reason, they were not jailed for long. But court proceedings are underway. I am not sure how much time they spent in police custody after they were taken the day of our departure but I don’t think it was for long,” said the source.
While another victim narrated that they were traumatized after being surrounded by police.
“At daybreak, armed Mozambican police officers surrounded the lodge and closed all
entrances and exits. Our passports were confiscated and photographed.
“It is at this point that Portia said she could not produce her passport as it was at Ocean Pearl
Beach Lodge.
“We pleaded with the Mozambican police to release us, explaining to them that were not accomplices but victims of a scam.
“The bus we traveled with to Vilanculos was impounded and it is at this point that we discovered that although the bus had an Isizwe Tourism sticker on it, it did not belong to Isizwe Tourism, it was a hired bus.
“We presented our sincere apologies to the Mangal beach lodge manager who had given us a hospitable and pleasant stay.
“She was kind enough to understand that we were not responsible for what took place.”
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