Fresh allegations have surfaced against Temba Mliswa, who is accused of illegally seizing multimillion-dollar businesses and property belonging to UK investor Paul Westwood.
According to revelations by Peter Wood, Westwood a long-term permanent resident of Zimbabwe lost control of Noshio Motors and Benbar Manufacturing, assets valued at over US$25 million in today’s market. The takeover, he claims, was carried out “farm-invasion style,” under the guise of Zimbabwe’s controversial indigenisation laws.
Wood further alleged that Mliswa hid behind the political cover of his uncle, the late Didymus Mutasa, then a powerful ZANU-PF minister, to shield himself from justice.
At the time, Mliswa reportedly claimed he had authorisation from former Youth Minister Saviour Kasukuwere and even President Robert Mugabe.
The case is said to have involved intimidation and threats so severe that Westwood and his family were forced to flee Zimbabwe. Allegations include death threats, attempted kidnapping, and sexual violence threats against his wife.
Peter Wood has now appealed directly to the Zimbabwean government under Emmerson Mnangagwa’s “Second Republic” to investigate the matter and provide justice to Westwood and the 65 employees who lost their livelihoods.
“I ask respectfully that your government pursue this matter on behalf of Mr. Westwood and his family, who were loyal residents of Zimbabwe,” Wood wrote.
The accusations, which have been kept largely hidden from official scrutiny, have sparked renewed debate over Zimbabwe’s commitment to investor protection, property rights, and the rule of law.
Notably, activist Ali Naka recently reminded President Mnangagwa of a letter he received in 2015, while still Vice President, about the Westwood case raising fresh questions about what action, if any, was taken.
