11 October 2025
H.E President Dr. E.D Mnangagwa President of the Republic of Zimbabwe State House Harare Zimbabwe
SUBJECT: AN URGENT AND PUBLIC APPEAL: THE $1.9 BILLION KUVIMBA HEIST AND THE SYSTEMIC COLLAPSE OF ACCOUNTABILITY UNDER YOUR WATCH, YOUR EXCELLENCY
Your Excellency
- We address you today with a profound sense of national emergency and a heavy heart. We are compelled to take the extraordinary step of an open letter because the formal channels of justice and accountability in Zimbabwe have been rendered mute, compromised by the very individuals entrusted to uphold them. When a state fails to prosecute a crime of this magnitude, the public has not only a right but a duty to speak.
- This letter concerns the sanctioned individual, Mr. Kudakwashe Tagwirei, and the fraudulent extraction of US$1.9 billion from the people of Zimbabwe through the purported sale of a 35% stake in Kuvimba Mining House (KMH) to the Mutapa Investment Fund.
- We write with direct reference to the CBZ Capital “Valuation Report” of October 2023, which served as the blueprint for this grand theft. A forensic juxtaposition of this document with the known history of the assets reveals a scheme of staggering brazenness.
- The Anatomy of a Pre-Meditated Looting:a. The Illicit Seed Assets: Mr. Tagwirei acquired cornerstone assets, namely, 50% of Great Dyke Investments (from the Zimbabwe Defense Forces) and 75% of Sandawana Mines (from ZMDC), for a combined sum that he paid less than 10%, making him not an investor, but a possessor of stolen state property.b. The Criminal Re-valuation: These very same assets, fraudulently obtained, were then grotesquely inflated by his contracted advisors, CBZ Capital. The report values the 50% stake in Great Dyke, which he effectively stole, at US1.9 billion. This is not valuation; this is a criminal fantasy designed to launder stolen goods into legitimate treasury funds.
c. The Siphoning Mechanism: By packaging these fraudulently valued assets into KMH and “selling” a 35% stake back to the Government, Mr. Tagwirei did not engage in commerce. He executed a sophisticated siphoning operation. From just two assets he previously stole from the state and few other worthless assets he had from the bankrupt Mwana Africa, which was in administration, he siphoned US1.9 billion in Treasury Bills which carried a coupon of 5% p.a, guaranteeing him an additional perpetual annual interest of US$95 million, paid by the taxpayers whose assets he stole and sold back to them at a staggering inflated valuation.
- Your Excellency, this is not a political opinion. It is a financial fact, laid bare by the transaction’s own documentation. To pay US$1.9 billion based on such a flimsy and conflicted document is an act of either incomprehensible negligence or deliberate complicity by your Government and its officials Mr President.
- We have chosen this public forum because your administration has demonstrated a total and utter failure to self-correct. This is not an isolated case of grand corruption and looting; it is a symptom of a captured state.a. Failed Institutions: The law enforcement agencies under your command have shown no appetite to investigate this heist. The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the Zimbabwe Republic Police remain silent. The Prosecutor-General has not acted. This institutional paralysis in the face of provable, monumental theft indicates a deep-seated compromise.b. Complicit Officials: Senior officials in the Office of the President, the Ministry of Finance, and the Reserve Bank are alleged to have been instrumental in facilitating this fraud. When the very officials meant to safeguard the treasury are accused of orchestrating its looting, to whom else can the citizenry appeal?
c. Culture of Impunity: Mr. Tagwirei continues to operate not as a fugitive, but as a celebrated businessman. This impunity signals that Zimbabwe is open for business not for all, but for a criminal elite that operates above the law, protected at the highest levels.
- The time for silence and inaction is over. We, therefore, demand the following immediate and transparent actions:a. Immediate Arrest and Prosecution: The immediate arrest of Kudakwashe Tagwirei for fraud, money laundering, and corruption. The subsequent swift and public prosecution to the full extent of the law.b. International Investigation: Given the compromised nature of domestic institutions, we demand the establishment of an independent, internationally-backed judicial commission of inquiry with full powers to investigate this transaction and subpoena all involved, including senior government officials.
c. Comprehensive Asset Forfeiture: The immediate freezing and state reclamation of all assets, both locally and internationally, acquired by Mr. Tagwirei, his family, and his associates using the proceeds of this and other corrupt activities.
d. Suspension and Prosecution of Accomplices: The immediate suspension and investigation of all government officials who participated in the facilitation of this fraud, including the Permanent Secretary of Finance, the former Governor of the Reserve Bank, and the Minister of Finance, with a view to their prosecution.
- Your Excellency, your presidency stands at a historic crossroads. One path leads to a legacy defined by the impunity of a criminal cabal that has bled the nation dry under your watch. The other path requires you to break from this cabal, to use the power of your office to side with the people of Zimbabwe, and to initiate the most significant anti-corruption action in our nation’s recent history.
- The choice is yours. The Zimbabwe people see the looting and impunity. History is recording.
- We await your decisive action.
- Respectfully,
Cde Blessed Runesu Geza For and on behalf of Concerned Citizens of the Republic of Zimbabwe
cc: The Speaker of the National Assembly
The President of the Senate
The Chairperson – Joint Operations Command (JOC)
The Commissioner-General, Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP)
The Chairperson, Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC)
The Media and the Public
