HARARE, Feb 12 (NewsDay Live) - Police have launched a manhunt for firebrand war veteran and Zanu PF central committee member Blessed Geza Runesu, and want to charge him for allegedly inciting to commit public violence and insulting President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Geza fronts a group of war veterans that wants Mnangagwa to step down, accusing him of grand corruption, nepotism and failure to run the country according to the values of the liberation struggle.
On Tuesday night, he held a Press conference and repeated his call for Mnangagwa to leave office, saying the veterans of the 1970s war of liberation had “mobilised ourselves to deliver the final blow to the dictatorship that lacks any wisdom or empathy.”
The ex-combatants, he said, were “now ready to deliver the final push.”
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday afternoon, the police said Geza is facing four charges.
Geza is facing two counts of undermining the authority of or insulting the President under section 33 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, he is also accused of theft under section 113 of the same law.
He allegedly stole and disposed of three vehicles without the owner’s consent.
Additionally, he is also charged with contravening Section 187 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] for incitement to commit public violence under section 187.
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“The suspect is facing four counts of criminal charges as outlined . . . Theft allegations as defined in section 113 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23. The suspect stole and disposed of three vehicles belonging to a complainant without his consent,” the police wrote.
They threatened “anyone found hiding or assisting Geza to evade arrest” with “legal consequences” and urged anyone with information on Runesu’s whereabouts to report to the National Complaints Desk.
Geza is being supported by other war veterans, opposition political parties, churches and pressure groups, among others.
Mnangagwa’s Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has previously threatened to have Geza arrested.
On Sunday, a 19-year-old man was apprehended after he was caught taking pictures at the firebrand war veteran’s farm in Sanyati.
The man, who identified himself as Nigel Murwira, was handed over to Sanyati police.
Geza was not at the farm when the incident took place.
