Zimbabwe News Update
newzimbabwe
5 min read
by staff reportercongolese refugee and businessman desire nsengimana has lodged a formal complaint with the zimbabwe independent complaints commission (zicc), accusing state security and immigration officials of harassment and unlawful detention amid intensifying tuckshop wars in downtown harare.in a letter by his lawyers, rubaya and chatambudza legal practitioners, gleaned by newzimbabwe.com, nsengimana alleges that members of the security sector are working with rival foreign traders who are “weaponising gossip” to eliminate competition through deportations and arrests.according to the complaint, nsengimana has been held at harare remand prison since june after he was allegedly kidnapped by men claiming to be central intelligence organisation (cio) agents.he says the agents branded him an “enemy of the state” and falsely accused him of being part of rwanda’s national intelligence and security service (niss).“on or about the 10th of june 2025, our client was kidnapped by a contingent of individuals who he claims presented themselves as members of the central intelligence organisation, whom, if given the chance, he is capable of identifying,” reads part of the letter dated november 7 and addressed to the zicc executive secretary.“his captors communicated the spurious allegations against him.
they threatened and ordered him to leave zimbabwe, having been falsely branded an ‘enemy of the state.’”the letter adds: “this designation was based on the unsubstantiated claim that he is an operative of rwanda’s national intelligence and security service (niss), allegedly deployed to target rwandan refugees who settled in zimbabwe post 1994.”nsengimana insists he is a legitimate refugee from the democratic republic of congo, lawfully residing in zimbabwe since 2014, and has no links to rwandan intelligence.“he alleges that he told the alleged cio agents that certain rwandan refugees who settled in zimbabwe just after the 1994 rwandan genocide were the ones who were just seeing shadows and were on a frolic of their own, giving the security agents in zimbabwe false information for purposes of weeding out of zimbabwe other refugees like desire nsengimana who they regarded as threats in business circles,” the letter states.his lawyers further argue that “there was nothing to the allegations as it was a simple case of jealousy and rivalry wherein his detractors sought and still seek to equate his business acumen with state sponsorship.”following the alleged abduction, nsengimana was reportedly handed over to immigration compliance officer machona, who ordered him to report to the immigration department the following day.“subsequent to his kidnapping, he was then handed over to one immigration compliance officer machona who then instructed him to visit the immigration department offices the next day, the 11th of june 2025.
he was then advised by machona that he was going to be detained at harare remand prison as a prohibited person for deportation to rwanda,” the lawyers said.the letter further claims that “machona advised him that his arrest and subsequent detention was not up to the immigration department, but some powerful members of the central intelligence organisation connected to a clique of refugees from rwanda. mr. nsengimana was perplexed by such abuse of state apparatus in the name of state security, yet he is not even a danger to the republic of zimbabwe.”nsengimana is now appealing to the zicc to investigate the alleged abuse of authority by state and immigration officials, which he believes is being driven by jealousy and commercial rivalry among refugee business operators in harare.
congolese refugee and businessman desire nsengimana has lodged a formal complaint with the zimbabwe independent complaints commission (zicc), accusing state security and immigration officials of harassment and unlawful detention amid intensifying tuckshop wars in downtown harare. in a letter by his lawyers, rubaya and chatambudza legal practitioners, gleaned by newzimbabwe.com, nsengimana alleges that members of the security sector are working with rival foreign traders who are “weaponising gossip” to eliminate competition through deportations and arrests. according to the complaint, nsengimana has been held at harare remand prison since june after he was allegedly kidnapped by men claiming to be central intelligence organisation (cio) agents.
he says the agents branded him an “enemy of the state” and falsely accused him of being part of rwanda’s national intelligence and security service (niss). “on or about the 10th of june 2025, our client was kidnapped by a contingent of individuals who he claims presented themselves as members of the central intelligence organisation, whom, if given the chance, he is capable of identifying,” reads part of the letter dated november 7 and addressed to the zicc executive secretary. “his captors communicated the spurious allegations against him.
they threatened and ordered him to leave zimbabwe, having been falsely branded an ‘enemy of the state.’” the letter adds: “this designation was based on the unsubstantiated claim that he is an operative of rwanda’s national intelligence and security service (niss), allegedly deployed to target rwandan refugees who settled in zimbabwe post 1994.” nsengimana insists he is a legitimate refugee from the democratic republic of congo, lawfully residing in zimbabwe since 2014, and has no links to rwandan intelligence.
“he alleges that he told the alleged cio agents that certain rwandan refugees who settled in zimbabwe just after the 1994 rwandan genocide were the ones who were just seeing shadows and were on a frolic of their own, giving the security agents in zimbabwe false information for purposes of weeding out of zimbabwe other refugees like desire nsengimana who they regarded as threats in business circles,” the letter states.
his lawyers further argue that “there was nothing to the allegations as it was a simple case of jealousy and rivalry wherein his detractors sought and still seek to equate his business acumen with state sponsorship.” following the alleged abduction, nsengimana was reportedly handed over to immigration compliance officer machona, who ordered him to report to the immigration department the following day.
