By Crime and Courts Reporter-Batsirai Matiza, son of the late Transport Minister Joel Biggie Matiza, has been charged with the theft of US$1 million after allegedly seizing control of a tree nursery project owned by the Green Rebirth Trust—an initiative dedicated to environmental preservation and sustainable agriculture.

Initially welcomed as a goodwill ambassador by the trust, Matiza later attempted to claim ownership of the project, which is valued at US$1 million.

Matiza, along with Zanu PF Information Director Farai Marapira, has also been implicated in the abduction of environmental activist and farmer Nadia Vingai Mabvirakure, a trustee of the Green Rebirth Trust.

Instead of arresting the accused, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) detained Mabvirakure after she exposed the two ruling party elites.

As tensions over the project escalated, Mabvirakure was reportedly abducted last Wednesday evening from her home in Chitungwiza.

Her disappearance was only confirmed by the police on Tuesday, sparking outrage and raising suspicions of state complicity.

In a bizarre twist, police later claimed that Mabvirakure was not missing but under arrest, without explaining where she had been taken from or why she was hospitalized.

This follows a familiar pattern in Zimbabwe, where activists are abducted, tortured, and later framed in fabricated criminal cases.

Her family had filed a missing person report at Makoni Police Station (RRB Number 6346710) before the police abruptly changed their narrative.

Reports suggest that a CID officer from Murewa, identified as Shenje, was seen near Mabvirakure’s home on the day she disappeared.

That evening, as she stepped outside to lock her gate, she was forcibly taken by unidentified men.

Court filings reveal that the Green Rebirth Trust had lodged an urgent High Court application against Matiza and his associates, Tichabaiwa Gwadu and Familia Muvhunwa, to prevent them from unlawfully seizing the tree nursery at Chemapango Secondary School in Murewa district.

The trust argues that Matiza was merely a donor with no legal claim to the project.

Despite this, Matiza allegedly sent Gwadu and Muvhunwa to forcibly take over the project on February 27, falsely claiming to represent the “Matiza Trust”—an entity the Green Rebirth Trust asserts does not exist.

Marapira, in a defensive statement, admitted to introducing Matiza to Mabvirakure but denied involvement in her abduction.

However, social media users, including @DrAfricanPride, have directly accused him of orchestrating her disappearance.

In what appears to be an effort to shield Matiza and Marapira, the ZRP released a statement accusing Mabvirakure of theft, claiming she misappropriated US$15,200 meant for the project—an accusation that conveniently aligns with Matiza’s interests.

However, the trust maintains that Matiza had no operational involvement and was merely one of many donors.

Mabvirakure’s ordeal mirrors past incidents where activists critical of Zanu PF have been abducted, tortured, and later falsely charged.

The 2020 abduction of opposition figures Joanna Mamombe, Cecilia Chimbiri, and Netsai Marova remains a glaring example of the state’s use of enforced disappearances to silence dissent.