Opinion / Columnist
Organized Crime Syndicates in Southern Africa: We Begin with Our Presidents!
03 Sep 2025 at 19:39hrs |
592 Views
To be politically correct, I will exclude African presidents who have
served their citizens with great respect. My article responds to a piece
on BYO24 today, which lamented crime syndicates in Southern Africa as
if this were a new phenomenon. Why write now, explicitly bemoaning
regional crime syndicates undermining economic development? Criminal
activities are as old as the first independent African states.
The late President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire looted US$5 billion in diamond revenues, stashing the money in Swiss banks in the global north. Who is questioning criminal activities in Southern Africa? If globalists are complaining now, it is because they have stopped benefiting from these high-profile crimes. African presidents are often the architects of crime syndicates, committing their acts in broad daylight under the noses of poor and hungry populations.
Zimbabwe: The Marange Diamonds
To make my point credible, let's start with the Marange diamonds in eastern Zimbabwe. What happened when they were "localized"? Residents were cruelly displaced by so-called revolutionaries who fought the war of independence - Robert Mugabe and his allies, including General Constantine Chiwenga. In a short time, diamond revenues soared to a staggering US$15 billion. The proceeds were divided among the elite and siphoned into foreign banks, leaving the local population destitute.
To this day, Marange residents remain internally displaced, living along roadsides where they were dumped like wild animals. No ruling elite has ever considered their wellbeing. That is African independence for you: we are hungry, poor, and worse off now than during the colonial days of Prime Minister Ian Douglas Smith. At least then, clean water and sanitation were functional.
We are told to shout "we are patriots" even when there is no food on our tables, no medicine for our pain, roads so dilapidated they cause carnage, and schools reduced to shadows of what they were under Smith's Rhodesia. When we say openly that Ian Smith was better, we are called traitors to Africa. At best, we are expected to suffer and die silently. Even if we speak out, they would kill us without hesitation.
The leadership in ZANU-PF dine and wine on our behalf, losing no sleep over the suffering of the majority. Zimbabwe is just one example of high-profile crime syndicates in Southern Africa - there are many others.
Zambia: From Kaunda to Lungu
Welcome to Zambia. Founding father Dr. Kenneth Kaunda laid strong developmental foundations over decades. A land of 73 ethnic groups, Kaunda championed "One Zambia, One Nation" and humanism - a philosophy that united the people. The educated elite of today, myself included, are beneficiaries of his free education policy.
Kaunda was never corrupt. But after he was voted out, Zambia never recovered. Then came Frederick Chiluba, whose presidency marked the start of Zambia's economic decline. Once a trade union leader, he was trusted to stabilize the collapsing kwacha. He failed dismally.
Fast forward to the 6th president, Advocate Edgar Lungu. He took over after the untimely death of President Michael Sata. Lungu began well, pursuing industrialization and infrastructure development with China's help. But Africa must face a bitter truth: there is no free lunch. When Zambia defaulted on Chinese loans, it was forced to hand over key infrastructure, including the national airport, as debt repayment - reducing national sovereignty to a caricature.
Realizing his failures, Lungu turned inward. Instead of addressing debt, he looted state funds for personal gain, spiralling from one act of economic mismanagement to another. Dubious business deals in the Copperbelt, luxury villas and golf resorts in Eswatini, and alleged money laundering to South African banks are all documented. He reportedly bought 150 luxury cars for his allies ahead of the 2026 elections.
The extent of his alleged involvement in
drug trafficking is still being investigated. As we speak, Lungu's body
lies in a South African morgue, awaiting burial. Only then, we are told,
will the full scale of his looting and trafficking be revealed.
South Africa: The Phala Phala Affair
Another disappointment is Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa's fourth president. The Phala Phala farm scandal speaks volumes. There is no precedent anywhere in the world for a president who effectively turned his mattresses and sofas into bank vaults. To elaborate further risks more trouble for the messenger than the message. But the point stands: criminal syndicates start at the top. A fish rots from the head down.
Eswatini: Land for the Elite
In Eswatini, citizens long to rid themselves of an outdated monarchy that denies them land to survive. Yet they hear of vast tracts gifted to a Zambian president for leisure golf with global elites. This land could have lifted millions from poverty. Instead, it became the site of a villa fit to make King Charles of the UK envious.
Other Examples
In Angola, former President José Eduardo dos Santos's daughter looted over US$1 billion in oil revenues. In the DRC, former President Joseph Kabila has been sentenced to death for collaborating with the M23 insurgency.
The Exceptions
For balance, there are leaders who have uplifted their nations. Rwanda's Paul Kagame is a dictator - dangerous to criticise - but he has transformed his country from genocide to a near first-world economy. In Zambia, President Hakainde Hichilema is working to improve rural communities. Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia have even signed a treaty removing border controls for their citizens.
The Bigger Picture
The BYO24 article I respond to blames criminal gangs for scaring off foreign investment. But criminality must first be attributed to the presidents themselves. Citizens emulate the lavish lifestyles of their rulers - funded by looting and corruption. Petty thieves are jailed, while grand corruption is normalised.
When South Africa jailed former President Jacob Zuma, the country erupted in riots, looting, and destruction worth billions. It was less about Zuma's imprisonment and more about an opportunity to make the country ungovernable. This is what happens when people are left in poverty without state support.
Southern Africa is on a dangerous path. If nothing changes, the region will become ungovernable.
The late President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire looted US$5 billion in diamond revenues, stashing the money in Swiss banks in the global north. Who is questioning criminal activities in Southern Africa? If globalists are complaining now, it is because they have stopped benefiting from these high-profile crimes. African presidents are often the architects of crime syndicates, committing their acts in broad daylight under the noses of poor and hungry populations.
Zimbabwe: The Marange Diamonds
To make my point credible, let's start with the Marange diamonds in eastern Zimbabwe. What happened when they were "localized"? Residents were cruelly displaced by so-called revolutionaries who fought the war of independence - Robert Mugabe and his allies, including General Constantine Chiwenga. In a short time, diamond revenues soared to a staggering US$15 billion. The proceeds were divided among the elite and siphoned into foreign banks, leaving the local population destitute.
To this day, Marange residents remain internally displaced, living along roadsides where they were dumped like wild animals. No ruling elite has ever considered their wellbeing. That is African independence for you: we are hungry, poor, and worse off now than during the colonial days of Prime Minister Ian Douglas Smith. At least then, clean water and sanitation were functional.
We are told to shout "we are patriots" even when there is no food on our tables, no medicine for our pain, roads so dilapidated they cause carnage, and schools reduced to shadows of what they were under Smith's Rhodesia. When we say openly that Ian Smith was better, we are called traitors to Africa. At best, we are expected to suffer and die silently. Even if we speak out, they would kill us without hesitation.
The leadership in ZANU-PF dine and wine on our behalf, losing no sleep over the suffering of the majority. Zimbabwe is just one example of high-profile crime syndicates in Southern Africa - there are many others.
Zambia: From Kaunda to Lungu
Welcome to Zambia. Founding father Dr. Kenneth Kaunda laid strong developmental foundations over decades. A land of 73 ethnic groups, Kaunda championed "One Zambia, One Nation" and humanism - a philosophy that united the people. The educated elite of today, myself included, are beneficiaries of his free education policy.
Kaunda was never corrupt. But after he was voted out, Zambia never recovered. Then came Frederick Chiluba, whose presidency marked the start of Zambia's economic decline. Once a trade union leader, he was trusted to stabilize the collapsing kwacha. He failed dismally.
Fast forward to the 6th president, Advocate Edgar Lungu. He took over after the untimely death of President Michael Sata. Lungu began well, pursuing industrialization and infrastructure development with China's help. But Africa must face a bitter truth: there is no free lunch. When Zambia defaulted on Chinese loans, it was forced to hand over key infrastructure, including the national airport, as debt repayment - reducing national sovereignty to a caricature.
Realizing his failures, Lungu turned inward. Instead of addressing debt, he looted state funds for personal gain, spiralling from one act of economic mismanagement to another. Dubious business deals in the Copperbelt, luxury villas and golf resorts in Eswatini, and alleged money laundering to South African banks are all documented. He reportedly bought 150 luxury cars for his allies ahead of the 2026 elections.
South Africa: The Phala Phala Affair
Another disappointment is Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa's fourth president. The Phala Phala farm scandal speaks volumes. There is no precedent anywhere in the world for a president who effectively turned his mattresses and sofas into bank vaults. To elaborate further risks more trouble for the messenger than the message. But the point stands: criminal syndicates start at the top. A fish rots from the head down.
Eswatini: Land for the Elite
In Eswatini, citizens long to rid themselves of an outdated monarchy that denies them land to survive. Yet they hear of vast tracts gifted to a Zambian president for leisure golf with global elites. This land could have lifted millions from poverty. Instead, it became the site of a villa fit to make King Charles of the UK envious.
Other Examples
In Angola, former President José Eduardo dos Santos's daughter looted over US$1 billion in oil revenues. In the DRC, former President Joseph Kabila has been sentenced to death for collaborating with the M23 insurgency.
The Exceptions
For balance, there are leaders who have uplifted their nations. Rwanda's Paul Kagame is a dictator - dangerous to criticise - but he has transformed his country from genocide to a near first-world economy. In Zambia, President Hakainde Hichilema is working to improve rural communities. Zambia, Botswana, and Namibia have even signed a treaty removing border controls for their citizens.
The Bigger Picture
The BYO24 article I respond to blames criminal gangs for scaring off foreign investment. But criminality must first be attributed to the presidents themselves. Citizens emulate the lavish lifestyles of their rulers - funded by looting and corruption. Petty thieves are jailed, while grand corruption is normalised.
When South Africa jailed former President Jacob Zuma, the country erupted in riots, looting, and destruction worth billions. It was less about Zuma's imprisonment and more about an opportunity to make the country ungovernable. This is what happens when people are left in poverty without state support.
Southern Africa is on a dangerous path. If nothing changes, the region will become ungovernable.
Source - Nomazulu Thata
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