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.