By Elizabeth Sitotombe
MEMBERS of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) have been accused of embezzling funds intended to finance hired protestors.
These protestors had been recruited to disrupt and cause mayhem during the just-ended 44th SADC Summit to tarnish Zimbabwe’s image on the international stage.
And the 2024 Zimbabwe Defence Forces Day celebrations, held for the first time at Rufaro Stadium in Mbare, Harare, provided a stark contrast to the activities of CiZC.
While the nation celebrated the contributions of its defence forces under the theme, ‘Zimbabwe Defence Forces: Guaranteeing a Conducive Environment for Attainment of Vision 2030’, elements within CiZC were allegedly plotting to undermine national stability for their personal benefit.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who led the Defence Forces Day celebrations, emphasised the importance of peace and security in achieving national development goals.
“Zimbabwe, under the Second Republic, is a friend to all and an enemy of none. We firmly subscribe to diplomacy and dialogue as the sustainable route for the resolution of conflicts, disputes and differences,” he said.
In stark contrast, CiZC’s recent actions have raised questions about their true motives and the impact of their activities on the nation’s peace and stability.
Inside sources reveal that the leadership of CiZC, along with other implicated individuals, have been siphoning off donations provided by gullible regime change funders, who seem never to learn their lesson and continue to lose millions of dollars to local CSOs claiming to do their bidding.
The local regime change agents are reportedly using these funds, meant to ‘support’ these ‘activists’ and their ‘families’, to finance their own lavish lifestyles.
The CiZC, a coalition of over 300 NGOs established in 2001, has a history of involvement in controversial activities, often aligning with external forces pushing for regime change in Zimbabwe. However, this latest scandal reveals a continuing trend: the exploitation of the very individuals they claim to protect. Key figures within the organisation, including Blessing Vava, the regional director of CiZC, and Katema Katema from the Southern African Defenders Network, have been implicated in this blatant misappropriation of funds.
According to sources, Vava, Katema and others have been soliciting donations from international donors such as the Ford Foundation and Open Society Initiative, under the pretense of supporting opposition activists supposedly ‘suffering political persecution’.
These activists, often arrested after illegal public demonstrations designed to attract attention from security forces, are portrayed as ‘martyrs’ by CiZC to solicit donations from Western donors. However, the funds are not reaching these ‘victims’ of ‘persecution’, leaving them to languish in prison without the promised support.
Instead, the funds are allegedly being diverted to support the luxurious lifestyles of CiZC members, who are reportedly living in upscale Johannesburg suburbs while continuing to call for demonstrations in Zimbabwe.
Vava, who previously served as the national spokesperson for ZINASU from 2008 to 2010 and became CiZC’s national director in 2020, has come under fire for his role in this financial scandal.
Katema, who has a background of working with USAID Zimbabwe as a senior democracy, human rights and governance advisor, has also been implicated. His recent public calls for the release of opposition figures like Jameson Timba and others have now been exposed as a cynical attempt to further enrich himself.
This is not the first time CiZC has been embroiled in financial controversies. In 2014, a damning audit report implicated the then-director, McDonald Lewanika, in the misuse of funds, leading to a significant cut in funding from their handlers.
The organisation failed to account for over US$850 million provided by USAID between 2011 and 2014, funds intended to support the regime change agenda in Zimbabwe. These past incidents, coupled with the current allegations, paint a disturbing picture of an organisation more focused on personal gain than on its stated mission of supporting ‘human rights’ and ‘democracy’.
The recent scandal has sparked outrage among other CSOs, who have demanded accountability from CiZC.
“This is a betrayal of the principles we hold dear, and we will not stand for it,” said one source from within the ‘human rights’ community.
These actions show the duplicity of CiZC, an organisation that has positioned itself as a champion of ‘democracy’ and ‘human rights’, yet seems to be more concerned with lining its own pockets.
