Tshabangu to push for cancellation of Blessed Mhlanga’s passport over Geneva speech

Self‑imposed Citizens Coalition for Change secretary‑general Sengezo Tshabangu has threatened to move a motion in Parliament calling for the cancellation of Alpha Media Holdings journalist Blessed Mhlanga’s passport following remarks he made at the Geneva Summit, where he described Zimbabwe as a tyrannical state.


Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Tshabangu labelled Mhlanga “unpatriotic”.

“I listened to @bbmhlanga speaking at the Geneva Summit, and I was deeply moved by his remarks. As an opposition politician and a Senator in the Parliament of Zimbabwe, I will raise a motion in the Senate urging the Government to cancel his passport. Patriotism must be upheld,” Tshabangu wrote.

Speaking in Geneva, Mhlanga said: “This is the new face of repression in Zimbabwe, laced with sophistication. In the past, it was naked violence on the streets, abductions and forced disappearances. It has changed - it is now violence committed through the legal system, what I call ‘lawfare’.”

He added that Zimbabwe had not become more democratic, but rather more sophisticated in its methods of oppression.

“So the world can pretend that Zimbabwe is democratising. But the worst is yet to come. And as a journalist, I will continue my search for the truth. Journalism is all I know; it is all I intend to do,” he said.