The untold story of Geza — The true patriot who found redemption and reawakened a nation

Zimbabwe has lost a true son of the soil, Blessed Runesu Geza, a man whose voice had become the echo of a nation’s buried conscience.

Geza, who had been secretly battling cancer, passed away last Friday, on 6 February 2026, after issuing a prophetic letter laced with premonitions of his death and the hopes of a better Zimbabwe he cherished.

His passing is not just the loss of a war veteran, activist, or revolutionary voice.

It is the loss of a man of substance and mighty valor who, in his final moments, chose truth over comfort, people over power, and repentance over pride.

Our nation has truly lost a son who dared to confront his own past, apologise for his errors, and place his remaining breath at the altar of national redemption.

Born of the liberation struggle and forged in the furnace of sacrifice, Geza, known by the nom de guerre “Cde Bombshell,” lived a life that mirrored the nation’s own pilgrimage into the Promised Land.

A long and testing journey marked by courage, betrayal, resilience, and hope.

For decades Geza was part of the post-independence establishment, a system that gradually drifted from the ideals of the liberation struggle and entrenched into corruption, exclusion, and elite capture.

Yet history will remember him not for where he stood once, but for where he chose to stand at the end.

Geza in a remarkable and noble act of political honesty rarely seen in public life, he openly apologised for his role in the removal of Robert Mugabe in 2017, admitting that the promise of renewal was betrayed by his successor President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Geza in his final letter to Zimbabweans, he confessed with disarming humility.

“When we recognised that Mugabe had betrayed the covenant forged in our battle for this country, we made the decision to remove him… I have since apologised for my role in that removal.

“Yet, what followed has been a nightmare. Mnangagwa has fared even worse,” wrote Geza.

Geza in February 2025 during his interview with local media HSTV a digital broadcaster owned by Alpha Media Holdings, despite facing imminent expulsion from the ruling party claimed that Mnangagwa after assuming power escalated corruption, neglected the people, and focused primarily on his family.

“As soon as he (Mnangagwa) tasted power, he escalated corruption, abandoned the people, and remembered only his family.

“We fought for a Zimbabwe where everyone would have a seat at the table, not for a few thieves cloaking themselves in robes of power,” said Geza.

This was part of Geza’s critique of how power and resources were being captured by a few cronies rather than serving national interests.

This admission, uncoerced and uncalculated was not weakness.

It was statesmanship of the highest moral order.

In acknowledging his shortcomings, Geza reclaimed his humanity and restored dignity to political accountability.

It was an act that earned him the respect of both friends and foes, many of whom now flood the public sphere with tributes and condolences, recognising a man who chose the people over self-preservation.

In his final years, Geza emerged as the spark that reignited national cohesion, cutting across entrenched political divides.

From ruling party loyalists to opposition supporters, from the rural poor to the urban working class, from Zimbabweans at home to those scattered across the diaspora, his message resonated.

Geza, in mid-April 2025, came out gun blazing framing the constitutional amendment push by Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda, Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and Prosecutor General Virginia Mabiza as a calculated assault on Zimbabwe’s democracy.

He accused the trio of plotting to “butcher” the Constitution to extend Mnangagwa’s rule to 2030.

“”As we speak Ziyambi Ziyambi the Minister of Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Virginia Mabiza, Prosecutor General and Jacob Mudenda, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, are ready to submit proposals to amend the Constitution and extend presidential term to 2030.

“The amendments will also extend the life of Parliament from five to seven years. This will take the current Parliament to 2030,” said Geza.

“The amendments include repealing Section 328 of the Constitution to allow Mnangagwa to benefit from the changes.

“They are also planning to use their two-thirds majority to approve the amendments and illegally avoid a referendum,” added Geza.

He also spoke a language of pain Zimbabweans understood, and a language of hope they had almost forgotten.

“Progressive forces have revealed continued daily plunder of our national Treasury by Emmerson Dambudzo Mnagagwa and his Zviganandas (wealth looters).

“This is done while our people continue to suffer in every way including a collapsed healthcare system, infrastructure decay, judicial capture and others,” said Geza.

His recent prophetic letter, written with the clarity of a man who sensed the nearness of death, touched the nation deeply.

While Geza was secretly battling cancer and acutely aware that his time on earth was limited, last year he acted with strategic urgency, orchestrating calls for protests and nationwide strikes that disrupted and delayed the expedience of the unconstitutional 2030 Agenda.

From exile, Geza urged Zimbabweans to withdraw their labour in an effort to force Mnangagwa from office, a move that, while failing to gain sustained momentum after the deployment of security forces and the arrest of dozens of activists, nonetheless achieved something deeper.

It made the nation realise how the Geza revolution wittingly bought time, offering ordinary citizens hope and space to collectively gather the strength, courage and unity required to continue the struggle for democracy, good governance and constitutionalism.

His words that moved a people to dream again, he wrote: ‘I am in pain that I might not see the new Zimbabwe after Emmerson (Mnangagwa), but I take solace in the hope that you will continue the faith for a free and prosperous nation — the Zimbabwe I fiercely fought for.

Those words crossed borders, travelled phones and hearts, and reminded Zimbabweans everywhere that a better Zimbabwe was not a fantasy, but a possibility within reach.

A nation rich in mineral wealth, fertile land, and human potential could still rise, if governed with integrity, justice, and compassion.

Geza’s unwavering opposition to corruption and state capture defined his final chapter.

He boldly named what many whispered, the looting of national resources by a parasitic elite, the “Zvigananda” who, as he put it, were “stealing from you, from your children, and from your future.”

Geza, in his final letter, once again rejected constitutional manipulation and stood firmly against attempts to amend the Constitution to extend presidential rule to 2030, vowing that such efforts would be fought and defeated even from beyond the grave.”

“This will never happen. I vow to fight this from the grave,” he declared.

In his memory and honour, that vow will endure.

Zimbabweans who cherish democracy, constitutionalism, and good governance carry this responsibility forward — to defend the republic from personal rule and to restore leadership anchored in service, not plunder.

It is no surprise that in death, some who once dismissed Geza as an opportunist or an “inside project” now seek to use his passing as political currency, scrambling for relevance and public sympathy.

Yet history will see through such manoeuvres. What remains undeniable is that Geza’s death has united Zimbabweans in purpose.

This is a rare and precious feat in a nation long fractured by politics.

He awakened a nationalist spirit that had lain in deep slumber, reminding Zimbabweans that beyond party colours, ideologies and values lies a shared destiny.

Even as his strength faded, his hope did not.

In perhaps the most haunting line of his farewell, Geza wrote: “As I speak to you now, I feel my energy sapping; I might not be here tomorrow… Yet, I will be gratified, knowing I fought a noble war and that you will carry it forward.”

That noble war — for democracy, dignity, and shared prosperity — did not end with his passing.

It was merely handed over.

Cde Bombshell leaves behind a nation stirred, a people reminded of their power, and a dream reawakened.

He was, in every sense, a hero par excellence, flawed yet courageous, repentant yet resolute, feared by the corrupt and cherished by the ordinary.

In life and in death, he belonged to Zimbabwe.

Geza’s words will be remembered, and his apology treasured

His vision carried forward and his final wish for a democratic Zimbabwe governed in the interests of all will be pursued until it is realised.

Rest in power, Comrade Bombshell.
Your soul walks with the nation you loved.
Aluta Continua!!!

Obert Masaraure is the national president for Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, human and social justice activist best known for his work defending the rights of rural teachers and advocating for better working conditions in the education sector.

He writes in his own capacity.