By Walter Gokwe, Investigative Correspondent
Harare, Zimbabwe – Behind the polished press releases and official statements declaring a $1.9 billion “strategic investment” in Zimbabwe’s largest mining conglomerate, Kuvimba Mining House (KMH), a darker truth is hidden—one that raises serious questions about transparency, state capture, and the future of public accountability under Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration.
This month, state media sought to reassure Zimbabweans about the integrity of the acquisition of a 35% stake in KMH by the Mutapa Investment Fund (MIF), completing government ownership of the $3.2 billion mining behemoth. The public was told that the acquisition, financed using 10-year Treasury Bonds, was a masterstroke of state-led investment strategy that avoided cash payments while retaining full control of strategic national resources.
But this official narrative masks a far more troubling reality: the transaction not only exposes the growing web of opaque financial engineering under Mnangagwa’s rule—it was executed under a newly created sovereign wealth fund that is now entirely exempt from audit by the Auditor General.
A Sovereign Wealth Fund Without Oversight
Mutapa Investment Fund, formerly the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe, was rebranded in 2023 through a statutory instrument that controversially removed it from the purview of the Auditor General—Zimbabwe’s only independent constitutional body mandated to audit the use of public funds.
This means that despite receiving a $1.9 billion “loan” in the form of Treasury Bonds—backed by public trust and national debt—MIF is under no legal obligation to account to Parliament or the Auditor General on how those funds are spent, repaid, or used to manage Kuvimba’s assets.
Legal experts and civil society watchdogs warn that this represents a direct violation of Section 298 of Zimbabwe’s Constitution, which mandates transparency and accountability in public finance management. “You cannot ring-fence national resources and debt behind a private veil and then call it public investment,” said one constitutional lawyer who declined to be named for fear of reprisal. “This is not a sovereign wealth fund. It is a shadow state.”
Mnangagwa’s Trojan Horse
The reorganization of MIF and its takeover of Kuvimba appears to be the culmination of a long-term strategy by President Mnangagwa to consolidate control over Zimbabwe’s most lucrative mineral assets through opaque proxies.
Kuvimba itself has a murky history. Once touted as a private venture, it was exposed by investigative reports as a state-linked entity secretly controlled by controversial figures, including the late mining mogul Kudakwashe Tagwirei—Mnangagwa’s close ally, sanctioned by the U.S. for corruption and state capture.
By absorbing Kuvimba into the Mutapa Fund, the Mnangagwa regime has effectively shielded the company’s financial operations from public scrutiny while ensuring that profits from gold, platinum, lithium, and chrome remain in the hands of a select political and business elite.
Dubious Valuations and Creative Accounting
MIF CEO Dr. John Mangudya insists the $1.9 billion price tag for 35% of KMH was fair, citing an “independent” valuation that pegged the company’s worth at $3.2 billion. However, neither the names of the advisory firms nor their full reports have been disclosed to the public.
Instead, the valuation was reportedly based on projected future value of mining assets—especially lithium at Sandawana Mine and gold at Freda Rebecca and Shamva—raising eyebrows over the speculative nature of the pricing.
Even more troubling is the funding structure: the so-called “purchase” was made using Treasury Bonds not backed by real-time cash, meaning MIF acquired full control of the mining giant without paying anything upfront. This raises the specter of “paper ownership,” where the state assumes liability (and risk) while politically connected actors wield operational control with zero accountability.
Who Really Owns Zimbabwe’s Minerals?
Although the government now claims 100% ownership of Kuvimba through MIF and affiliated entities—ranging from Datvest Nominees (compensating white former farmers) to the Public Service Commission and war veterans—there is no clarity on how these shares are managed or who ultimately benefits.
The lack of audited accounts, combined with complex shareholding structures and proxy companies, fuels suspicion that public ownership is merely a façade.
“The ownership narrative is smoke and mirrors,” said one mining industry insider. “At the end of the day, the people who control the money flows are the ones who control the mines—and they’re not answering to the public.”
Conclusion: Nationalization or Privatization by Stealth?
Zimbabweans are being sold a myth of national ownership at a time when the very institutions meant to ensure accountability have been sidelined. In truth, the Mutapa-Kuvimba deal is not a story of state empowerment, but of elite consolidation under the guise of sovereign investment.
What Mnangagwa’s government has done is privatize Zimbabwe’s most valuable assets—using public debt, structured opacity, and legal loopholes. And without the Auditor General’s oversight, the Zimbabwean public may never know where the billions generated by Kuvimba truly end up.
Until independent audits are reinstated and MIF is brought under parliamentary scrutiny, the Mutapa Fund will remain less a sovereign wealth fund and more a sovereign slush fund—designed not to benefit the people of Zimbabwe, but to entrench the power of those who already rule them.
Have tips or documents related to Mutapa Fund or Kuvimba? Contact the newsroom securely at [ZimEye]