HARARE – War veteran Blessed Geza, who died in exile in South Africa last Friday, deserves a national hero’s burial despite his fallout with President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa has said.
Geza, a former MP and Zanu PF central committee member, died with treason charges hanging over his head after calling for national protests last year aimed at removing Mnangagwa from power. The protests ultimately failed but triggered widespread disruptions, with more than a dozen activists still in custody while scores of other dissidents fled into exile alongside him.
Opinion within Zanu PF over Geza’s legacy appears split, and Mutsvangwa’s remarks mark the first public reaction by a senior party figure since his death.
“Both the party and war veterans feel that he is a comrade who faltered at the last mile. We blame this on the fact that Geza was no longer well,” Mutsvangwa told The Daily News.
“He was thus not thinking properly, which made him vulnerable to people who want to steal the history of the people of Zimbabwe.
“We embrace him back. As Zanu PF and war veterans, we say your history will not change despite what happened recently.”
Mutsvangwa said Geza “deserves a decent burial,” adding that war veterans would push for him to retain his national liberation war status.
“It cannot be taken away from him,” he said, adding that they would also provide immediate support to Geza’s widow, Roseline Tawengwa.
He appeared confident that Mnangagwa would ultimately approve a burial “befitting of a liberation war veteran.”
Geza was largely unknown nationally until January 2025 when he appeared on a YouTube broadcast announcing that he and a group of fellow war veterans were withdrawing their support for Mnangagwa, accusing the president of corruption and misrule. He soon fled into exile, continuing online broadcasts that drew significant attention among Zimbabweans.
Without providing evidence, Mutsvangwa alleged that figures linked to the late former president Robert Mugabe’s, whom he described as “remnants of the vanquished Generation 40 (G40)” faction, had influenced Geza’s campaign against Mnangagwa.
“Why can’t the G40s and other such groups identify anybody else whom they could make a deal with and abuse? Why go for somebody who fought a liberation war?” Mutsvangwa said.
“They wanted to steal him from fellow comrades. It’s theft of history, and Zanu is totally against theft of history.”
It remains unclear whether Mnangagwa is prepared to grant Geza national hero status, given their public political rupture and Geza’s role in mobilising protests that nearly destabilised his government. – ZimLive
