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.