A powerful new report set for release tomorrow by The Sentry, a U.S.-based investigative watchdog, is expected to blow the lid off one of Zimbabwe’s most explosive political scandals to date. The report, based on detailed financial data and open-source intelligence, reveals how Zimbabwe’s feared Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) secretly funded the operations of Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ) to rig the 2023 general elections in favor of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and ZANU PF.
This short but damning dossier tracks illicit financial flows channeled through a known CIO-owned company and shows how these secret resources were used to illegally bolster FAZ’s campaign activities, effectively sabotaging Zimbabwe’s electoral integrity. The findings directly support earlier concerns raised by civil society, opposition parties, and regional bodies like SADC, which openly rejected the legitimacy of Zimbabwe’s flawed 2023 elections.
This is not just a scandal—it is evidence of state capture by shadowy intelligence networks used to hijack democracy.
The Sentry’s new investigation follows a preliminary release last week that laid the groundwork for what many suspected but could not fully prove: that FAZ, under the protection and financial backing of the CIO, acted as a parallel electoral commission, intimidating voters, manipulating voter rolls, and coordinating logistics for ZANU PF using public money that was never accounted for in official budgets.
This latest report, embargoed until tomorrow, contains granular evidence—including financial records—that pinpoints how CIO covertly moved money into FAZ’s operations, bypassing traditional oversight mechanisms. It exposes not just misconduct but a carefully planned and executed operation to rig an entire national election using the state’s own security arms.
It is now undeniable: Zimbabwe’s elections were bought with dirty money.
More importantly, the report shows how President Mnangagwa’s re-election was not only illegitimate—it was engineered through the systematic abuse of state institutions. With the CIO acting as financier and FAZ as the political enforcer, the Mnangagwa regime turned the state into a tool of electoral theft. The ZEC, the official election commission, was reduced to a ceremonial figurehead while the real campaign engine worked in the shadows, bankrolled by secret intelligence funds.
This revelation will have major consequences. Already, Mnangagwa faces deepening questions about his legitimacy at home and abroad. The SADC observer mission’s refusal to endorse the 2023 elections now finds concrete backing. If regional and international bodies failed to act before, this report leaves no excuse for continued silence.
Zimbabwe’s opposition parties, who have long warned about FAZ’s illegal involvement in the election process, will be emboldened by this hard proof. The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), Transform Zimbabwe, and other pro-democracy groups now have fresh fuel to demand accountability, electoral reforms, and international sanctions against those implicated in this criminal operation.
Beyond Zimbabwe, the report also serves as a cautionary tale for the entire SADC region about the danger of unaccountable intelligence agencies becoming political players. The CIO’s activities are not just about Zimbabwe—they represent a wider threat to regional democracy and peace. Intelligence services exist to protect nations, not to subvert the will of the people.
International pressure is now inevitable. The revelations in this report will likely attract the attention of global anti-corruption bodies, donor governments, and multilateral institutions. Questions will be raised about how international funds and support may have been indirectly abused to sustain a corrupt and repressive regime. Foreign governments, particularly those in the Global North, will now face calls to impose targeted sanctions, freeze assets, and support democratic movements in Zimbabwe.
For Zimbabweans, this report is not just a bombshell—it’s a mirror reflecting the scale of rot at the heart of their government. It will add to the anger, disillusionment, and resistance already brewing across the country. With inflation rising, repression intensifying, and the economy in freefall, the exposure of such deep institutional betrayal could further destabilize Mnangagwa’s already shaky grip on power.
In conclusion, The Sentry’s new report is a devastating blow to the regime’s narrative of a free and fair election. It confirms what many knew but could not prove: that Zimbabwe’s intelligence services were weaponized to hijack democracy and entrench dictatorship. The time for cover-ups is over. What happens next—whether reform or repression, justice or more decay—will shape Zimbabwe’s political future for years to come.
The world is watching. And this time, the evidence is too clear to ignore.