CIO quizzes Victoria Falls activist

THE Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) has been drawn into controversy after conservation activist Benjamin Larry Norton revealed that intelligence officers held a series of meetings with him over his ongoing High Court challenge against commercial developments near the Victoria Falls World Heritage Site.

Norton, who filed the legal application in 2022, said he was visited several times in 2025 by officers from the President's Department seeking information about his opposition to developments linked to Adage Success and Scanner Investments.

The dispute centres on commercial projects in protected zones surrounding Victoria Falls, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1989. Norton argues that the developments threaten the site's ecological integrity and global heritage value.

Judgment in the three-year-old case is still pending.

At the time the application was filed, the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Zimparks), then headed by Fulton Mangwanya, was cited as one of the respondents. Mangwanya was later appointed Director-General of the CIO in 2025.

Mangwanya has denied authorising any intelligence-led engagement with Norton during his tenure in the President's Department.

"I can confirm the High Court application was filed while I was DG Zimparks and it's a pending court case," he said.

"While I was DG President's Department, I don't remember tasking any of my officers to interview Norton."

"As such, it will be difficult for me to know the agenda of the alleged meeting or interview by PD officers at Mr Norton's house in Victoria Falls."

Norton, however, said intelligence officers made several visits to his residence, describing the encounters as professional but unsettling.

"I have had four separate visits from members of the President's Office," he said.

"During the first visit, three local officers visited me. During the second meeting, an officer arrived unannounced to try to get me to report to the President's Office HQ in Victoria Falls."

He said he declined to attend formal office meetings but agreed to engage officers at his home instead.

"I was told it was a courtesy call to find out about the issues I was fighting at the Victoria Falls World Heritage Site," Norton said.

"I explained the background and the issues at length, and that much of the information was already in open letters that I had written and shared in the public domain."

He added that officers sought detailed explanations of his legal challenge, including disputes over the construction of Baines Restaurant and the commercialisation of Cataract Island.

According to Norton, one officer even requested that future public correspondence be submitted for prior review, a request he did not agree to.

The activist said he remains uncertain who directed the engagements.

"This is the great mystery. I have asked myself the same question many times," he said.

The Victoria Falls case, which has drawn attention to tensions between conservation efforts and commercial development, remains before the High Court, with judgment still pending.