On March 31, Zimbabwean security forces spent the entire day dispersing small gatherings of people who were trying to stage a peaceful protest against the ruling ZANU-PF party’s attempts to secure an unconstitutional third term for President Emmerson Mnangagwa. By day’s end, the police had apprehended 95 demonstrators for allegedly promoting “public violence” and causing “breaches of peace”. However, the police did not manage to detain the man behind this protest, Blessed Geza. A veteran of the 1970s liberation war, Geza remains at large despite being sought by law enforcement on four criminal charges since February.
He was expelled from the ZANU-PF party on March 6 for supposedly undermining the party’s leadership by calling on Mnangagwa to step down. Subsequently, on March 26, Geza took to YouTube, dressed in military fatigues, to criticise Mnangagwa and many key figures associated with the 82-year-old leader. He warned that he was starting to take unspecified action against “Zvigananda” – people who are accruing wealth through illegal means and looting the nation’s wealth. The “Zvigananda” on Geza’s list include numerous government ministers, senior civil servants, party officials, war veterans and three wealthy, highly influential businessmen with close ties to the government who are widely believed to be corrupt: Scott Sakupwanya, Wicknell Chivayo and Kuda Tagwirei.
According to local media investigations, Chivayo, an ex-convict, made millions of dollars by selling exorbitantly priced electoral materials to Zimbabwean authorities for the highly disputed August 2023 general election. An investigation conducted by NewsHawks, a local newspaper, concluded that he later funnelled millions in kickbacks to influential Zimbabwean figures.
Tagwirei is at least as controversial as Chivayo. A July 2023 report published by The Sentry and Open Secrets revealed how he built a shadowy business empire and enormous wealth using complex, controversial corporate structures and seemingly preferential government treatment. Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti has stated that Tagwirei controls the Southern African nation’s fuel sector, more than 60 percent of its gold mines, two of the largest banks and its only gold refinery.
Both Chivayo and Tagwirei are believed to have exploited their close ties to Mnangagwa and the ZANU-PF party to land government contracts and further their business interests.
On March 28, Geza made it known that he was responsible for setting alight several vehicles parked outside the offices of Tagwirei and Chivayo. His voluntary admission was designed to reflect his “revolutionary” intent to confront the “Zvigananda” and the “political criminals” associated with Mnangagwa. For the past year, Zimbabwe’s leader has been trying to secure a third term even though he has publicly denied this goal and the constitution restricts him to two terms.
This disastrous ambition, however, appears to be facing notable resistance from his deputy, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, a former military chief. There is widespread speculation that Chiwenga, who still retains substantial backing within the Zimbabwean military, is the principal force driving Geza. On March 27, Mnangagwa moved General Anselem Sanyatwe – a key Chiwenga ally – from the position of army chief to minister of sports, art and recreation in a manoeuvre to diminish Chiwenga’s influence among the defence forces.
The intensifying struggle for power may lead to a coup similar to the military takeover on November 15, 2017, led by Chiwenga, which ousted Zimbabwe’s strongman Robert Mugabe. Nonetheless, the primary issue extends beyond Mnangagwa’s alarming malfeasance, as suggested by Geza. It lies in the ZANU-PF party’s conspicuous failure to establish a strong, effective and transparent democratic framework.
While Geza’s various perspectives on Zimbabwe’s governance challenges are certainly a positive contribution, his narrow-minded interpretations tend to oversimplify an extremely complex situation. Attributing Zimbabwe’s intricate issues solely to Mnangagwa’s unquestionably poor and corrupt leadership is both misleading and counterproductive. In truth, Chiwenga and Geza – a former ZANU-PF Central Committee member – are also deeply embedded in the systemic issues affecting Zimbabwe.
“Zvigananda” have been an integral part of Zimbabwe’s economic environment since the country gained independence from Britain on April 18, 1980. From the early 1980s, prominent businessmen such as Samson Paweni and Roger Boka were closely linked to senior ZANU-PF officials and were involved in financial misconduct amounting to millions of dollars. Thus, Geza’s evaluations are certainly superficial and fail to offer effective solutions to the ongoing democratic deficit in the nation. Rather than challenging the existing political structure, he aims to maintain the status quo, albeit with a new leader and possibly a different set of “Zvigananda”. The reality is that all factions within the ZANU-PF party – new, old and emerging – are woefully corrupt and shockingly averse to the rule of law.
In April 2018, Marry Mubaiwa, the ex-wife of Chiwenga, found herself embroiled in allegations of corruption. Only 55 days after the coup in November 2017, she was awarded a lucrative multimillion-dollar contract to provide travel services to the office of the president and cabinet, all without going to tender and following the proper procedures. Then, in December 2019, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission arrested Mubaiwa on charges of money laundering, fraud and violations of exchange control regulations.
A month later, during court testimony in divorce proceedings against Mubaiwa, Chiwenga did not fare any better, openly acknowledging that he had received luxury vehicles from state entities and wealthy “well-wishers”. The ever scheming Tagwirei, for example, had donated a Mercedes Benz E350, which was used to transport Chiwenga’s children. So Chiwenga, too, is not in any way untainted by allegations of corruption – and definitely not the breath of fresh air he is made out to be.
That Zimbabweans have not mobilised in large numbers to express their displeasure with the overt and infinite sleaze involving high-ranking ZANU-PF officials is primarily due to harsh restrictions placed upon them. The government has persistently weaponised the law and used violent measures to silence dissent.
Zimbabwe, unfortunately, currently resembles Rhodesia, the colonial state that preceded its formation in 1980. A defining characteristic of Rhodesia was the state’s steadfast resistance to the unencumbered expression of civil rights and majority rule. In May 2020, for instance, Joanah Mamombe, Netsai Marova and Cecillia Chimbiri were abducted, beaten and sexually assaulted by suspected state agents and subsequently jailed for leading an antigovernment protest.
The flagrant disregard for fundamental constitutional tenets, such as the inalienable right to protest, underscores the ZANU-PF party’s deep-seated unwillingness to adhere to the rule of law. This, together with a judiciary that is firmly captured, a security apparatus that is heavily politicised and a military that unashamedly operates as an armed extension of the ruling party, is impeding the sociopolitical stability of Zimbabwe.
For 45 years, the government has wilfully neglected to protect vital constitutional liberties and ensure the integrity of elections. In many ways, the legacy of Rhodesia under Prime Minister Ian Smith, an unflinching white supremacist, is still very much alive in Zimbabwe.
After the “successful” March 31 protest, Geza intends to organise Mnangagwa’s impeachment, claiming that the president is suffering from dementia. Regardless of whether he achieves his goal, there is a growing feeling that decisive action is needed to arrest the country’s present trajectory.
Nonetheless, simply swapping Mnangagwa for Chiwenga, a man whose sense of entitlement and lust for power far exceed his governance capabilities, will not yield the meaningful change that Zimbabweans aspire to achieve. What Zimbabwe truly needs is a comprehensive and democratic overhaul that garners support across civil society and the political divide.
Any change must, for the first time in Zimbabwe’s 45-year history, give free and tangible expression to the rights enshrined in the constitution.
The ZANU-PF, above all, must abandon its Rhodesian style of governance.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
