Zimbabwe war vets launch impeachment drive

A major political storm is sweeping through Zimbabwe's corridors of power as a group of war veterans led by outspoken activist Blessed Geza has initiated an impeachment campaign targeting senior government officials accused of orchestrating a US$1.9 billion corruption scandal involving the controversial overvaluation of Kuvimba Mining House.

In what is being described as an unprecedented act of defiance from a faction once loyal to the ruling party, the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association has formally accused six high-profile officials of conspiring to fraudulently inflate Kuvimba's value - creating a conduit for the looting of state funds.

Those named in the impeachment petition include businessman Kuda Tagwirei, CBZ Holdings chairperson Simbarashe Chinyemba, attorney Varaidzo Zifudzi, former Reserve Bank governor John Mangudya, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, and Finance Ministry Secretary George Guvamatanga.

According to documents released by the association, the six allegedly collaborated to overvalue Kuvimba Mining House from US$1.5 billion in 2023 to US$5.4 billion in 2024, using CBZ Capital - a firm with conflicts of interest tied to the accused. This manipulation reportedly facilitated the payment of US$1.9 billion from the national treasury to acquire a 35% stake in Kuvimba, via a shadowy entity known as Pfimbi Resources, which the war veterans claim is connected to the First Family.

Speaking at a packed press conference in Harare, Geza minced no words:
"We cannot sit back while the legacy we fought for is looted by a corrupt elite. This is no longer just a criminal matter - it is a national betrayal. We are demanding accountability through constitutional means, starting with the impeachment of all those involved."

The veterans allege that the roots of the scandal stretch back to the controversial Command Agriculture programme, under which military-linked assets such as Great Dyke Investments were unlawfully stripped from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces in 2019 at below-market prices. They claim the acquisitions were enabled through collusion, bribery, and political cover from the highest offices in government.

In a damning accusation, the group also named President Emmerson Mnangagwa as complicit in the scheme, asserting that the fraud could not have occurred without his knowledge and protection.

The war veterans have now called on Parliament to swiftly initiate impeachment proceedings against the named officials for "gross abuse of public trust, economic sabotage, and enabling grand-scale corruption."

The petition has begun to gain traction among civil society organisations and opposition leaders, signaling a rare convergence of interests between political reformists and liberation war fighters - long considered pillars of the ruling establishment.

If Parliament acts on the motion, it could mark a watershed moment in Zimbabwe's political landscape, testing the strength of democratic accountability in a nation long plagued by elite impunity and governance scandals.