Zimbabwe must abandon Rhodesian style of governance
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.
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Watson-Smith was in Harare, where he worked as the Mashonaland East provincial chairman of the Commercial Farmers Union, a body representing white commercial farmers, when he learned that his farm had been invaded by retired General Solomon Mujuru, a former commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and top ZANU-PF figure in the province. Efforts to move their assets like tractors and vehicles went in vain, Watson-Smith said, as the invaders allowed only his wife to take their personal belongings, like photographs and furniture, from the house before leaving. Even the courts offered little protection. Though Watson-Smith won a High Court ruling to reclaim his assets, Mujuru's thugs chased away the sheriff sent to enforce the order. Watson-Smith and his family were lucky to escape their farm unharmed. But they were still afraid. On December 21, 2001, they fled through the Beitbridge border post to South Africa, later moving to France to start a new life. Before the farm invasions, Zimbabwe produced enough to feed itself and for exports to Southern Africa and Europe. Agriculture was the backbone of the economy, employing much of the country's workforce. Some Black Zimbabweans had also risen to the top, managing farms. Initially, Mugabe's land expropriation programme was meant to redistribute land to disadvantaged Black Zimbabweans to boost equity and agricultural development. But under the cover of correcting colonial injustices, powerful officials seized productive farms from both white and Black farmers. Kondozi Estates in eastern Zimbabwe was one of the farms seized by senior ZANU-PF figures in 2004. The land in Manicaland province was co-owned by Black Zimbabwean Edwin Moyo and the white de Klerk family. At the time, it was a vital exporter of fresh produce, particularly high-quality beans, gooseberries, corn, mangetout and sugar snaps to European retailers like Tesco and Sainsbury's. It employed hundreds in Mutare, and its destruction was a death blow to the local economy. The same pattern repeated itself on other farms, locals say, with Black owners without strong ties to the ZANU-PF continuing to face evictions. In 2021, human rights defender and lawyer Siphosami Malunga lost his farm to ZANU-PF secretary-general Obert Mpofu. Though Zimbabwe's lower courts later ruled in his favour and he is back on his farm awaiting a High Court decision, the battle over its ownership rages on. 'Land reform was necessary,' 53-year-old Malunga told Al Jazeera. 'The colonial project dispossessed Blacks, pushing them on to barren land while whites took the best farms. But the way reform was handled enriched the elite while leaving ordinary Zimbabweans with nothing.' Mugabe once campaigned for a 'one man, one farm' policy. Yet his allies ignored it. Even his wife, Grace Mugabe, amassed at least 15 farms. Most of the beneficiaries of the FTLRP were ZANU-PF loyalists, experts note. Rejoice Ngwenya, a political analyst based in Harare, said Mugabe's land reform was not about Black empowerment. 'It had motives: firstly, to pacify war veterans that were agitating for more recognition; secondly, to punish white commercial farmers who were supporting the opposition. The man was insecure,' he told Al Jazeera. 'If you promise to not expropriate Black-owned farms, you should not touch Moyo or Malunga's farms. But ZANU-PF does not care,' he remarked. Vivid Gwede, another Harare-based political analyst, said land ownership has been used as a tool to punish disloyalty or reward loyalty to the governing party. 'On account of politics, some Black farmers have had their land invaded,' he said. Unlike white commercial farmers who spent decades learning the land, most of the ZANU-PF-aligned farmers who took over had no farming experience. The new owners were people who had spent most of their lives in the bush fighting against white colonialists, experts note, while many Black farm workers who had experience managing white-owned farms did not benefit from land reclamations. As a result of the chaotic and violent invasions, knowledge of agricultural practices was also not passed on. Soon, the Southern African nation with a once-thriving agricultural economy began to face a food crisis, later compounded by climate change. For years, many Zimbabweans have depended on food aid from donors like the United Nations World Food Programme. In April 2024, the government declared a national disaster as a severe El Nino-induced drought left more than half of Zimbabwe's 15.1 million people facing hunger. The crisis exposed the country's collapsed agricultural sector. Before land seizures, white commercial farmers and Black farmers like Moyo had irrigation schemes to mitigate droughts. ZANU-PF dismantled these systems, leaving the country vulnerable. Zimbabwe's collapse in agricultural productivity stems not just from poor planning, but from a deeper culture of impunity, experts say. Across the country, though court orders were issued to stop farm invasions and evictions of white commercial farmers, these were ignored. Since 2000, former farmers have filed hundreds of legal cases, trying to reclaim their assets, with little success. The 2013 constitution promised compensation, but only for farm improvements, not the land itself. When Emmerson Mnangagwa took power in a 2017 military coup, he inherited a shattered economy, abandoned and poorly managed farms, food shortages, and soaring unemployment. Desperate for solutions, he reached a $3.5bn compensation deal with white farmers in 2020, hoping to mend relations with the West and lift US economic sanctions imposed in 2001. But the plan stalled. In October 2024, the government set aside $20m to compensate a handful of foreign white farmers from Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany whose investments were affected by the land reform programme. This month, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube announced that the government had paid $3.1m to white former farmers who lost land during Zimbabwe's land reform. However, the Compensation Steering Committee (CSC), a domestic body representing white farmers, criticised the compensation as a token gesture and rejected the deal, saying it wants negotiations instead. 'We're willing to talk, but they [the government] are not talking to us,' Ian McKersie, chairman of the CSC told Al Jazeera. In response, Nick Mangwana, permanent secretary in Zimbabwe's Ministry of Information, told Al Jazeera there are 'factions' among the white farmers. 'If they speak, they are speaking for themselves, they do not represent the mainstream,' he said. 'It is preposterous [to reject the deal]. It does not make sense.' Mangwana also denied that there are ongoing land seizures, such as the case of Malunga, whose farm was taken in 2021. 'These are just disputes … It is not a land invasion. There is no land invasion in Zimbabwe,' he said. Now in France, Watson-Smith runs a real estate business. But back in Zimbabwe, his once-productive Alamein Farm has fallen into disuse; its land is now less vibrant than it used to be. After General Mujuru, who was one of Zimbabwe's most feared men, seized Watson-Smith's farm, he turned it into a hunting ground. Following Mujuru's death in 2011, his wife, former Vice President Joice Mujuru, kept the land but struggled to maintain it. Meanwhile, Kondozi Estates, the major part-Black owned farm taken by ZANU-PF elites, also fell into decay. A visit this year revealed abandoned equipment and overgrown fields. Across the country, seized farms remain untended. During the land reform, farms were given long-term leases. But banks refused to recognise these leases as collateral, making it impossible for farmers to secure loans. In late 2024, President Mnangagwa ordered the Ministry of Lands to stop issuing permits and leases in favour of title deeds. But experts warn this is problematic as it does not address the land dispute between resettled farmers and dispossessed white commercial farmers. 'If the government issues title deeds on land already under existing historic title deeds, it's unlawful,' Willie Spies, a lawyer assisting dispossessed Zimbabweans, told Al Jazeera 'A legitimate process requires compensating former farmers fairly before transferring ownership.' New farmers have already benefitted from state subsidies, including a 2007 mechanisation programme that distributed tractors and harvesters without repayment. Zimbabwe's debt now stands at $21bn, according to the World Bank – $13bn owed to international creditors and $8bn in domestic debt. Some of the domestic debt is a result of the agricultural subsidies, which ended up benefitting political elites and not the poor rural farmers. Corruption runs deep, said Malunga, who is still awaiting a final court decision about ownership of his farm. 'Agricultural subsidy programmes were hijacked by the elite, enabling grand corruption and theft of billions,' he said. While title deeds could offer land security to the new farm owners, he warned: 'This risks creating a privileged Black landowning class.' Watson-Smith notes that although title deeds helped farmers like him by 'open[ing] the doors to credit for irrigation, dams and every farm improvement', giving title deeds to new farm owners without addressing past injustices is meaningless. 'It might impress Zimbabwean banks, but international lenders won't recognise stolen property,' he said. Once the backbone of Zimbabwe's economy, agriculture is now crippled by corruption, mismanagement and political greed, farmers say. Meanwhile, the scars of the land grabs remain, both for displaced former farmers and the nation still grappling with the fallout. As many white farmers live in self-exile abroad, many common Black farmers are in limbo, facing off against senior politicians in the battle for land ownership. For now, Malunga is back on his farm, growing tomatoes and other crops. But he remains unsettled. 'Pending the decision of the High Court, we are in occupation,' he said, knowing his future is uncertain until the judge decides.
