HARARE – The Association of Healthcare Funders of Zimbabwe (AHFoZ) has been plunged into crisis after the Sheriff of the High Court moved to attach the organisation’s assets to recover more than US$37 000 awarded to two former employees for unfair dismissal.
The attachment follows AHFoZ’s failure to promptly comply with a court order to reinstate and compensate former Public Relations Officer Wadzanayi Chiweshe and the chief executive’s former personal assistant, Monica Garande. The total award amounts to US$37 306.94.
An independent arbitrator quantified the compensation on June 16, 2025, after ruling that the two employees had been unlawfully dismissed. The High Court subsequently ordered AHFoZ to immediately pay the award. However, delays in compliance prompted enforcement action, with the Sheriff giving the organisation 48 hours to settle the amount or face attachment of its property.
Sources say the legal troubles stem from what they describe as arbitrary decision-making and mismanagement by AHFoZ chief executive Shylet Sanyanga, raising broader concerns over governance, transparency and labour compliance within the influential medical aid industry body.
The court had earlier ruled in July 2024 that AHFoZ had unlawfully terminated the contracts of the two employees in February 2024 and had victimised them in the process. During arbitration proceedings, AHFoZ attempted to reverse its earlier admission that the dismissals were unlawful by arguing that they were, in fact, fair.
The arbitrator rejected the attempt, ruling that his mandate was limited to quantifying compensation, as liability had already been conceded. He proceeded to confirm the monetary award in favour of Chiweshe and Garande.
Chiweshe said the outcome had brought relief after a difficult period.
“I am happy with the outcome of the arbitration process. I’m very relieved and I thank God for this. I think it was fair and just,” she said. “I had been with the organisation for four years when I was dismissed. There was no due process followed before my dismissal. I was consistently subjected to mental and emotional abuse, which took a significant toll on me.
“We tried hard to settle this issue out of court, but management was not serious about concluding the matter amicably.”
Garande said she was satisfied that the dispute had finally been resolved.
“I am pleased that finality has been brought to this matter. I think the arbitrator was fair in the judgement,” she said.
She described the working environment as hostile, alleging that Sanyanga was abusive and toxic.
“On January 24, 2024, I was forced to resign, and when I tried to resist, I received a dismissal letter within 20 minutes. This situation was traumatic and affected me heavily mentally and emotionally. It broke me and turned my life upside down, as my family depended on me,” Garande said.
She added that her children’s schooling had been disrupted after she could no longer afford school fees.
Sources within the association say the legal dispute reflects deeper systemic labour and governance problems. They allege that Sanyanga failed to fully disclose the implications of the dismissals and the resulting legal exposure to the AHFoZ board, chaired by Stanford Sisiya.
The developments have raised questions about the stewardship of an organisation entrusted with significant membership funds and regarded as critical to the stability of Zimbabwe’s healthcare financing system.
AHFoZ has also reportedly experienced high staff turnover, with sources claiming that more than 70% of employees left the organisation between January 2023 and June 2025.
Efforts to obtain comment from Sanyanga, who was recently appointed to the National Pharmaceutical Company board, were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
