HARARE – Police on Tuesday said nearly a dozen National Youth Service graduates were “persons of interest” after they appeared in a viral video calling for the fall of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government, amid rising tensions ahead of protests called for October 17 by war veteran Blessed Geza.
In a statement on Tuesday, national police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi said: “Reference is made to a video that has gone viral on social media platforms, in which some members of the Zimbabwe National Youth Service Graduates Association are engaged in an unsanctioned gathering. These members are persons of interest.”
The warning comes as Geza — a former Zanu PF central committee member and vocal critic of Mnangagwa — has urged citizens to join what he calls the “Million Citizens March for Zimbabwe’s Future” on Friday.
The protest call has cast a shadow over Zanu PF’s annual conference in Mutare, which runs from October 13 to 18.
In the video, a spokesman for the youth service graduates — flanked by nine others, some wearing uniform — said the 2017 military coup was meant to “restore the dignity of black people, fight corruption and stop those abusing President Robert Mugabe’s powers for personal gain.”
“Now to our horror, the conditions that led to the military’s 2017 Operation Restore Legacy have returned twenty-fold. As trained graduates of the youth service, we call upon Zimbabweans to join us in fighting corruption,” the speaker declared.
He added: “We are encouraged that the vice president (Constantino Chiwenga) has called for the arrest of these corrupt individuals. We are giving law enforcement 24 hours to act. If it fails, we will go into the streets — all Zimbabweans must reaffirm that Zimbabwe does not belong to one person but to all of us.”
In a series of letters dated October 11 and posted on his X account, Geza and a group calling themselves the Concerned Citizens of the Republic of Zimbabwe appealed directly to Mnangagwa to order the arrest of businessmen Kudakwashe Tagwirei, Wicknell Chivhayo and Scott Sakupwanya over alleged “grand corruption” and “criminal capture of the state.”
Geza accused the trio of looting billions of dollars from public coffers through government contracts, mining deals and opaque financial arrangements, and demanded their arrest, prosecution and the forfeiture of their assets.
“We are compelled to address you not out of malice, but from a place of profound national duty and deep-seated concern for the future of the Republic of Zimbabwe,” Geza wrote.
“The avenues of accountability which your government is constitutionally mandated to uphold appear entirely compromised and unresponsive to one of the most staggering acts of brazen looting in our nation’s history.”
He alleged that Chivhayo defrauded the government of US$192,761,700 through six companies — IMC Technologies, IMC Communications, Kings Excellence, IMC Agriculture, IMC Plant Hire and Eden-breeze — all allegedly linked to inflated or non-existent government contracts.
Geza demanded “the immediate arrest and prosecution of Wicknell Chivhayo and every single government official and accomplice named in this scheme,” as well as a “transparent forensic audit” involving the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and all commercial banks.
In another letter, he accused Sakunda Holdings boss Tagwirei of masterminding the “fraudulent extraction of US$1.9 billion” through Kuvimba Mining House — a transaction he said diverted state-owned mining assets into private hands.
“A forensic juxtaposition of the CBZ Capital Valuation Report of October 2023 with the known history of the assets reveals a scheme of staggering brazenness,” Geza wrote, alleging that Tagwirei had seized control of mines previously owned by the military — including Great Dyke Investments and Sandawana Mines — and calling for international investigations.
On Sakupwanya, Geza claimed the Zanu PF MP and gold dealer presided over a “sophisticated financial fraud scheme” known as the “Gold Tollgate”, which he said siphoned between US$800 million and US$1.2 billion from the treasury.
“It is with deep respect for your office and a firm belief in the principles of justice and accountability that we lay these facts before you, appealing for your immediate and decisive intervention,” he wrote.
In all three letters, Geza urged Mnangagwa to “choose the path of integrity” and “side with the millions of suffering Zimbabweans,” warning that his legacy would be defined by how he responded to what he called “a moment of profound crisis.”
“The people of Zimbabwe are watching,” he warned. “Act decisively to end this grand corruption and ensure justice is served.”
While Geza’s previous calls for nationwide protests have largely fizzled, the timing of this latest one — coinciding with Zanu PF’s conference and amid reported tensions between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga — together with the police statement, points to growing official concern over the convergence of youth groups and activists ahead of the planned demonstrations. – ZimLive
