By Munacho Gwamanda–Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has flown back to Italy, continuing a series of international travels that have sparked renewed debate over the government’s lack of transparency regarding high-level foreign trips and their associated costs.
State media reported that Chiwenga, who was in Rome last week to attend the funeral of Pope Francis before travelling to Iran, has now returned to Italy for what are described as high-level meetings with the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church.
Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to the Vatican, Sekai Nzenza, confirmed the Vice President’s presence in Rome.
“Vice President Chiwenga’s attendance at Pope Francis’s funeral clearly signified the strong relationship between Zimbabwe and the Vatican,” said Ambassador Nzenza. “The Catholic Church has had a long-standing presence in Zimbabwe, even during the liberation struggle. I’ve had the privilege of meeting Pope Francis twice—in December and January—and held talks with the Vatican Secretary of State.”
According to Nzenza, the Vatican is keen to engage Zimbabwe on key social issues.
“Our discussions focused on the Vatican’s commitment to youth development and the empowerment of women through education. The Catholic Church has long contributed to education and healthcare in Zimbabwe, and those conversations will continue,” she said. “We intend to further explore issues of social justice, inequality, education for girls, youth development, health, and climate change.”
However, Chiwenga’s frequent international travels, often under the guise of diplomacy, have long drawn scrutiny, especially given the opacity surrounding their purpose and cost.
Since undergoing major treatment in China in 2019 after a prolonged and mysterious illness, Chiwenga has made regular visits to Asia for what officials describe as “routine medical check-ups.”
His recurring foreign trips, many of which are not clearly explained to the public, have invited comparisons to former President Robert Mugabe, who was widely criticised for spending vast amounts of state resources on overseas medical care while neglecting the country’s healthcare system.
Critics argue that Chiwenga, like Mugabe before him, has effectively become an “airborne leader,” spending significant time abroad at taxpayer expense, with little to no disclosure of the financial or policy implications of these journeys.
The Zimbabwean government continues to withhold details on the costs and frequency of presidential and vice-presidential trips, prompting calls for greater accountability.
Despite demands from civil society and opposition leaders, there has been no official breakdown of travel-related expenses, leaving citizens in the dark about how much of the national budget is being consumed by elite medical and diplomatic excursions.