Chiwenga amassed wealth is undeserved and explains his blind loyalty to Mugabe

It is when the marriage has gone sour, when the deceased's estate is being shared out or some special occasion such as a wedding that Zimbabweans have been afford the very rare peek at the Zanu PF ruling elite's amassed wealth and the extravagant luxuries of their life. We saw this with when Minister Ignatius Chombo was having divorcing his wife and when Mugabe invited the world into his opulent palatial $20 million Blue Roof mansion for his daughter, Bona Nyapudzai, wedding. This time it was Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander Constantine Chiwenga's turn to declare his loot!

"The couple owned Blue Chip Stamp Company (Pvt) Ltd which owned a property at 5 Rosary Close, Quinnington, Borrowdale measuring 5 701 square metres," Bulawayo24 reported. 

"They also owned Lighthouse Investments (Pvt) Ltd which owned four industrial units in Willowvale, with each unit measuring 3 850 square metres and Liversay Investments (Pvt) Ltd which owns a property at 614 Prince Drive in Borrowdale Brook measuring 4 817 square metres."

The report went on to list thirteen other properties in the form of companies, farms houses and an apartment in Malaysia.

The couple also owned motor vehicles, including a Prado, Jeep, Toyota land Cruiser V8, Mercedes Benz C180, Land Rover Defender and a Land Rover Discovery 4. 

There are three things that stand out like a sore finger in all the stories of Zimbabwe's rich ruling elite:

 -     In a country where millions have absolutely nothing how is that a tiny few have come to own so much?

 -     Most of these filthy rich Zanu Pf loyalists cannot account for any of their amassed wealth through traceable tax returns; they got it through corruption and looting.

 -     The General's divorced wife Jocelyn was awarded seven vehicles in the court settlement among them a jeep, Toyota Land cruiser V8, two Mercedes Benz, Land Rover Defender, Land Rover Discovery and a Toyota Hiace. She can only drive one car at a time but she had to have all seven cars in line with the Maggie pie hoarding mentality in this Zanu PF filthy rich class.

 -     These Zanu PF cronies seized productive farm from the white farmers only to fail to keep up the productivity; the same happened with all the other business ventures they bought or looted. Indeed the value of assets we see today is but a fraction of the billions of dollars lost in bad investments and in luxuries expensive holidays and pleasure of the flesh.

 -     People like General Chiwenga were well aware that their amassed wealth and their lifestyles of unparalleled luxuries was unearned, undeserved and, most significantly, unsustainable. It was only because Mugabe and Zanu PF were prepared to ride roughshod of the masses that made all these things possible, no other political party would give them that. It is no wonder then people like Chiwenga have pledged their loyalty to Mugabe and Zanu PF and the regime's continued rule even when it was self-evident that this was contrary to the national interests and common good.

 -     On the economic front, the nation's economic recovery is dependent of taking back the looted wealth hoarded by Mugabe and his cronies and putting them back into productive use, especially the farms.

 -     On the political front, like General Chiwenga can be allowed to serve in their positions if the so wished, but it is absolutely imperative that all the democratic reforms giving back institutions like the Army their independence and freedom to serve the nation as they are implemented.

The nation had its best chance to implement the democratic reforms during the GNU and, sadly, failed to do. Doing so now is not going to be easy but still not impossible. This is something we simply have to do because the alternative is accepting the status quo that has condemned millions to abject poverty and hopeless despair.

Every generation has its challenge, the greatest challenge of our time is to get all the democratic reforms implemented followed by free, fair and credible elections. Nothing of any meaning and substance can ever be achieved until we have free elections.