Zimbabwean Car Rental CEO Dies; Refused to Turn Over GPS Data

Thomas Dondo, CEO of Zimbabwe's Impala Car Rental, died over the weekend, according to ZimLive.com. Impala has been at the center of legal battle related to the kidnapping and torture of university student Tawanda Muchehiwa in July.

Dondo was compelled by a court to turn over vehicle tracking on the customer who rented the company's rental truck that was used in kidnapping. However, he refused the order, claiming police had already taken all vehicle data and that the truck did not have tracking at the time, despite earlier telling media it did.

Muchehiwa, a journalism student, was abducted by state security agents in the middle of the day on the eve of planned anti-government protests. He was tortured and accused of plotting to overthrow President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime before being dumped on the side of the road with kidney failure and visible external wounds.

While the Zimbabwean State media reported Dondo died of COVID-19, his company issued a statement saying he died of kidney failure.