HARARE – Incarcerated former Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi has told the High Court of Zimbabwe that he inherited a collapsed ministry when he assumed office in the aftermath of the 2008 political violence.
Testifying before Justice Benjamin Chikowero on Tuesday, Mzembi said the Ministry of Tourism had been severely weakened by the fallout from the disputed 2008 elections and the earlier land reform programme.
“When I joined the ministry, it had only five employees,” he said. “The ministry had collapsed as a result of the toxic politics of 2008 and the land reform programme of 2000.”
Mzembi said he took office at the height of Zimbabwe’s post-election crisis, during which 241 people reportedly died, a period he described as having “shattered Zimbabwe’s image” internationally.
According to his testimony, tourist arrivals had dropped to about 250,000 annually, generating approximately US$296 million in revenue at the time he assumed the portfolio.
“My responsibility was to start a new ministry and build it,” he said.
Mzembi told the court that he embarked on a rebuilding programme aimed at restoring confidence in Zimbabwe as a tourist destination. By the time he left office in 2017, he said, arrivals had risen to 1.5 million, with sector revenue reaching about US$1 billion.
He made the remarks while defending himself against allegations related to the donation of public-viewing screens to churches, arguing that his actions formed part of broader government strategies adopted during the Government of National Unity.
Mzembi told the court that the donation of the public-viewing screens was not a unilateral decision, but one taken with the knowledge and authority of senior government leaders, including the late former president Robert Mugabe.
He said Mugabe had expressly empowered him to donate the equipment as part of a broader government programme.
The former minister further testified that the late former prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai was consulted under the Government of National Unity framework and “gave a nod” to the initiative.
He argued that decisions of such magnitude could not have been made without briefing the principals in the inclusive government.
Mzembi also implicated President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was then vice-president, saying he personally handed over some of the equipment at Mbungo during a commissioning ceremony at the Zion Church of Christ.
According to Mzembi, Mnangagwa had been assigned by Mugabe to officiate at the event.
He added that senior government officials, including former Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi, were present during the commissioning of the screens, arguing that their attendance demonstrated that the programme had official endorsement.
Mzembi maintained that the initiative originated from a Cabinet-sanctioned taskforce established ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup preparations, insisting that the deployment of the screens was part of a coordinated, government-wide effort rather than a personal decision.
