Why is the Mnangagwa regime so desperate to shield abusive Chinese companies from scrutiny?

When those entrusted to defend and protect you instead choose to side with your abuser, the problem runs far deeper than mere neglect.

Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube's warning to Zimbabwean businesspeople to "never refer to the Chinese again" is as alarming as it is revealing. 

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Framed as a noble attempt to prevent xenophobia, the statement in reality exposes a disturbing eagerness by the Mnangagwa administration to silence legitimate grievances by Zimbabweans who are suffering real, documented abuse at the hands of some Chinese-owned companies-particularly in the mining sector. 

This is not about prejudice. 

It is about power, protection, and profit, and once again, ordinary Zimbabweans are being told to suffer quietly for the sake of elite interests.

Let us be clear from the outset: criticising abusive business practices is not xenophobia. 

Holding foreign investors to account for labour violations, violence, environmental destruction, and disregard for local laws is not hatred of a nationality. 

It is a basic demand for justice, dignity, and sovereignty. 

To deliberately conflate these concerns with xenophobia is intellectually dishonest and politically convenient. 

It shifts attention away from the real issue-systemic abuse-and reframes victims as potential villains.

Ncube's remarks are particularly troubling because they come against a backdrop of overwhelming evidence of misconduct by some Chinese companies operating in Zimbabwe. 

From Mutoko to Hwange, from Marange to Binga, reports of underpaid workers, denial of protective equipment, unsafe working conditions, violent assaults, and even killings are not isolated incidents or rumours whispered in taverns. 

They are well-documented realities. 

In 2025, a Chinese supervisor allegedly shot and killed a Zimbabwean worker in Mutoko. 

That is not xenophobia; that is homicide. 

To suggest that Zimbabweans should respond to such brutality with silence and "respect" is to normalise abuse.

Equally disturbing is the environmental devastation associated with many Chinese-run mining operations. 

This destruction is evident at Redcliff's Cactus Dam, the Boterekwa Gorge in Shurugwi, and Mutare's once scenic Christmas Pass. 

These areas have been scarred by reckless mining, polluted waters, and the systematic destruction of landscapes that once sustained livelihoods and symbolised Zimbabwe's natural heritage.

As warned by the Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) and other watchdogs, Zimbabwe is facing what can only be described as environmental collapse. 

Rivers are being destroyed, mountains flattened, forests cleared, and toxic substances like mercury and cyanide dumped with impunity. 

Communities are drinking contaminated water, breathing polluted air, and watching their farmland disappear-all in the name of "investment". 

When citizens raise alarm about this destruction, they are not attacking a nationality; they are defending their right to life and a livable environment.

So why, then, is the Mnangagwa regime so eager to protect these companies?

The answer lies partly in the nature of Zimbabwe's political economy under the so-called "Second Republic". 

Chinese investment has become central to the Mnangagwa regime's survival strategy.

The government protects these companies not out of diplomatic principle, but because their operations are deeply entangled with patronage networks, rent-seeking, and a political economy that rewards opacity and punishes scrutiny. 

In doing so, it has surrendered not only bargaining power but also moral authority.

Chinese companies are not merely investors in Zimbabwe; many are deeply embedded in elite patronage networks. 

Mining concessions, environmental licences, and security protection are often granted under opaque circumstances, with strong indications of corruption and collusion involving senior government officials, state institutions, and security forces.

As Farai Maguwu has pointed out, those who are supposed to enforce the law are frequently part of the syndicates destroying the environment. 

In such a context, defending Chinese companies is not about diplomacy; it is about self-preservation.

This explains why the government's response to abuse is not enforcement, but intimidation of critics. 

Instead of strengthening labour inspections, prosecuting violent offenders, cancelling licences of polluters, or compensating affected communities, the state chooses to lecture victims about tone and language. 

"Never refer to the Chinese again," Ncube says-effectively demanding invisibility for perpetrators while suffering remains hyper-visible.

There is also a deeper ideological problem at play. 

The Mnangagwa administration has embraced a crude, extractivist development model that prioritises quick foreign capital over sustainable growth, human rights, and environmental protection. 

Mining is presented as the shortcut to prosperity, even as it impoverishes communities and destroys future livelihoods. 

Anyone who questions this model-be they workers, villagers, activists, or local businesspeople-is branded unpatriotic, anti-investment, or now, xenophobic.

Ironically, the same government that lectures citizens about xenophobia has shown little concern for the dignity of Zimbabweans abroad. 

When Zimbabweans were brutally attacked in South Africa during waves of xenophobic violence, official responses were often timid and ineffective. 

Yet at home, the state is hypersensitive to the feelings of foreign investors, even when they abuse locals. 

This double standard speaks volumes about whose lives matter.

It is also telling that Ncube directed his warning at local businesspeople who are struggling to compete. 

Instead of addressing legitimate concerns about unfair competition, regulatory loopholes, and the violation of reserved sectors, the Finance Minister chose to scold Zimbabweans for naming the problem. 

This reflects a broader pattern where the state sides instinctively with capital-especially foreign capital-against its own citizens.

Zimbabweans are not against foreign investment. 

They are against exploitation. 

They are not hostile to Chinese people; they are hostile to being beaten, shot, underpaid, poisoned, and dispossessed in their own country. 

Any government that truly served its people would understand this distinction and act accordingly.

By choosing to protect abusive companies and silence victims, the Mnangagwa regime is not preventing xenophobia-it is breeding resentment, anger, and instability. 

Suppressed injustice does not disappear; it festers. 

If the government continues down this path, it risks turning legitimate social grievances into deeper national crises.

Zimbabwe does not need lectures about politeness. 

It needs leadership that enforces the law without fear or favour, regardless of nationality. 

It needs a government that values its people more than predatory investors. 

And above all, it needs the courage to say that no amount of foreign capital justifies the abuse of Zimbabweans in their own land.

© Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/