By Dr Masimba Mavaza | OPINION | The just ended woeful documentary by Aljazeera has exposed lousy journalism and the political dirty game by Qatar in their quest to bring down Dubai’s economy.

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Zimbabwe has been taken as collateral, making it a callous way of settling scores with its neighbour while tarnishing the image of another sovereign state. Qatar used Zimbabwe as collateral and did not even wink to think about the consequences of its actions.

Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) share a naval border and are part of the Arabic-speaking Persian Gulf region. They are both members of the GCC. On 5 June 2017, as part of the Qatar diplomatic crisis, the UAE cut diplomatic relations with Qatar. On 6 January 2021, Qatar and the UAE agreed to restore diplomatic ties fully.

The Qatar diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic incident in the Middle East that began on 5 June 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Qatar and banned Qatar-registered planes and ships from utilising their airspace, land and sea routes, along with Saudi Arabia blocking Qatar’s only land crossing, as a de facto blockade.

The crisis was thought to have ended in January 2021 following a resolution between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
In recent years, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been on a diplomatic spree, re-normalising relations with a host of countries in the region, including Syria, Iran and Turkey, and formalising ties with Israel. The UAE’s reconciliation with Qatar following the Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) historic al-Ula summit of January 2021 illustrates shifts toward greater pragmatism in Abu Dhabi’s foreign policy agenda. As part of Emirati efforts to dial down tensions with competitors, rivals and adversaries, the UAE has sought to contain and manage—as opposed to heightening—the friction that has built up between Abu Dhabi and Doha since the 1990s, particularly in the post-2011 period.
Questions about the role of political Islam and pluralism in the Arab world have been at the heart of tensions between the UAE and Qatar. Abu Dhabi’s commitment to an authoritarian model and fierce opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood has led it to perceive various aspects of Qatari foreign policy as a threat to the UAE and what Abu Dhabi sees as ‘moderation’ and ‘secularism’ in the region. Such friction was a major driver of the GCC crises of 2014 and 2017–21.
When a handful of Arab-Muslim nations joined together to apply pressure on Qatar in May/June 2017, Abu Dhabi was the main agent behind that campaign against Doha. The problems between Qatar and the UAE were ideological in nature, whereas tensions between Doha and Riyadh were more strategic.
With this in mind, one asks himself a few questions. The Gold Mafia documentary did not prove any laundering against Zimbabwe. What exactly did it achieve?
It is not a secret that the documentary went further to single out Dubai as the destination of smuggled gold and laundered funds. There is no proof of any Penny leaving Zimbabwe but speculation. It then follows that Qatar, which wholly sponsored Aljazeera, aimed at Dubai and did not care if Zimbabwe was harmed in the process.
The Gold Mafia name was just destruction. When the world listened, they heard clearly that the culprit was Dubai. There are too many gaps in the Aljazeera documentary. In trying to create a strong foundation for their case against Dubai, they grasped for former First Lady Grace Mugabe. The part with the current 1st Lady is heavily edited. We only hear Ambassador Angel and a few words from her. The First Lady was so calm and composed she behaved like any normal African woman. She referred Hurbet Angel to the father. Father supposedly means the President. The responses the First Lady gave did not suggest dealing with a woman. She simply said to talk to the father. Repeat what you have told me to him. One wonders where the conversation starts, which shows that President is involved. The First Lady showed that she was uncomfortable and didn’t even know what the Ambassador was talking about. It seems she assumed it was an investment issue and asks Uerbet to contact the President. That was the only time the voice of the First Lady was heard. How could the First Lady know that Uerbet was with these liars from Aljazeera? It is natural to pick up a phone, so you do not need to know who is with the caller.

Then without shame, Aljazeera brings in Ewan, who was clearly high from Whiskey; Pattni says he is close to President, but we don’t see him call the President or a high-ranking official in the government of Zimbabwe.

Anyone knows that Zimbabweans will use any opportunity to get a deal, including name-dropping. One wonders where money laundering is in this documentary. Is there actual money laundering exposed, or it’s loudmouths who want to grab an opportunity? Why did they not go through to pay the so-called $200.000 to meet ED and expose him? They just gathered a bunch of money-hungry conmen who also saw an opportunity to get a quick buck to fleece the so-called investors. What was happening here was a conference of dishonest people. Angel was equally liable as he name-dropped to win an Investor. And the Aljazeera journalists are criminals who are after destroying Dubai in the name of investigative journalism. It’s a con affair, not the gold mafia.

I’m the documentary, we are being shown a poorly taken film which masquerades as a sitcom. In pubs, people drop names to get a drink. In this documentary, we are just learning how con artists work. The higher the stakes, the high up they drop names. People get worked up; yes, we have to shore up the borders. Why would a so-called ED mafia kingpin use Angel to sell gold if he can fly out with his own plane? One wonders why they go through Pattni and Ewan. Is it feasible that Gold which belongs to the President, passes through immigration? They must find better ways to smear the President. Why did Al Jazeera not take the opportunity to expose ED personally by paying the $200 k which was reduced to $20k just to prove it? A blind man can see Angel was trying to make a quick buck Al Jazeera is the one that was almost conned by Angel desperate for cash. AlJazeera was reckless in its bid to tarnish Dubai; they sowed confusion in the Zimbabweans. Making Zimbabwe to be engaging in illegal activities. With no evidence but advertise that this so-called document will expose the President and his family. Aljazeera allowed anyone to slander another person and did not prove it and yet broadcast what the person said as gospel truth Journalism ethics are broken in the documentary. In a bid to smear ED, anyone is allowed to make a claim that they are connected. Have they done a thorough due diligence of mental and other issues why they are making accusations it should be stated that the dispute between Doha and Dubai erupted over complaints about Qatar’s independent foreign policy, including its close ties to Iran and Turkey? Under a more conciliatory foreign policy driven by economic priorities, the UAE was engaging with Tehran and Ankara after years of badly strained relations.
So it goes without saying that the documentary by Aljazeera used Zimbabwe as collateral.