TWO of Zimbabwe’s leading drug rehabilitation hubs, Matrix Rehabilitation Centre and Angel of Hope Foundation, are among a plethora of sprouting correctional centres that are increasingly taking the limelight for human rights abuses as they operate under a thick veil of secrecy. The investigation established that some of the victims at such detention centres, who are being arbitrarily rounded up, are as young as nine. First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa founded Angel of Hope in February 2018, a few months after her husband emerged as the new president following a military coup that toppled the late former President Robert Mugabe, and is its patron.
The hub — a recipient of international recognition and support from such institutions like Medishare Rotary Australia, EverX and Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences — has been working with vulnerable populations, particularly women, girls and youths to provide basic healthcare, education and social support. Drug rehabilitation was not part of its founding core objectives, but the institution seems to have taken a cue from President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s six-year multi-sectoral drug and substance abuse policy launched in June 2024. Angel of Hope set up its first 200-capacity rehabilitation centre in the populous south-western suburb of Mbare in Harare, the capital, in July 2025, offering free one-month programmes for individuals battling substance abuse through group therapy, counselling and psychological assessments.
This facility is different from the drug rehabilitation centre, which is located in Ruwa, some 20km southeast of the capital. The duo was accused of operating a non-profit organisation without requisite registration and impersonating child protection officers for offering services reserved for qualified personnel, among them counselling, child supervision and behaviour correction, in contravention of child protection laws.
