Blessed Geza

Blessed Geza
Born	Blessed Runesu Geza
Known for	Calling for Mnangagwa Ouster

Blessed Runesu Geza is a Zimbabwean political figure whose career has spanned several decades, marked by his involvement as a liberation war veteran, a member of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party, and a controversial public personality. He is widely known by the nickname "Bombshell," a moniker that reflects his propensity for making startling and often confrontational public statements and allegations.

Geza fell out with ZANU-PF in early 2025 when he publicly accused the Zanu-PF leader and country's president Emmerson Mnangagwa of corruption and misrule. He asked Mnangagwa to resign or risk being pushed out.

Background

Geza was born in 1943. He went to St. Ignatius High School, a notable high school in Zimbabwe.

Geza is participated in the Second Chimurenga as part of the ZANU political party and ZANLA military wing. In the war, he used the name "Bombshell".

Political career

Following ZImbabwe's independence, Geza became a Zanu-PF politician serving as Member of Parliament for the Sanyati constituency, located in Mashonaland West Province.

Beyond his parliamentary role, Geza was a member of the ZANU-PF Central Committee a key decision-making body within the party.

2017 Military Coup

Blessed Geza's long-standing loyalty to ZANU-PF was initially extended to Emmerson Mnangagwa. This was particularly evident during the political events of November 2017, which led to the ousting of former President Robert Mugabe. Geza, alongside other war veterans, reportedly backed Mnangagwa's ascent to power.

2025 Attempts To Push Mnangagwa Out

In early 2025, amidst his growing criticism of the Mnangagwa administration, Geza publicly reminded President Mnangagwa of the crucial support he had received from then-military commander and current Vice President Constantino Chiwenga during the 2017 transition. Geza also apologised to Zimbabweans saying he had not known Mnangagwa was not fit to be president when he helped his ascension to power during the 2017 coup. Geza also said he was opposed to the 2030 Agenda a campaign to ammend the Zimbabwe constitution to extend Mnangagwa's rule to 2030 through a third term.

In February 2025, he led a group of liberation veterans at press conferences in Harare, where they demanded President Mnangagwa's resignation, accusing him of "grand corruption and incompetence". These press briefings gained wider attention as they were exclusively broadcast by Heart & Soul Tv (HSTV)

The culmination of Geza's deteriorating relationship with ZANU-PF was his expulsion from the party. The party's Mashonaland West provincial leadership reportedly recommended his expulsion on February 4, 2025. Subsequently, in early March, ZANU-PF officially announced the immediate expulsion of Blessed Geza, who until then was a Central Committee member. The announcement was made by the party's Secretary for Legal Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa.

In Mid March Geza posted a video online in "new military garb". In this appearance, he made the grave accusation that President Mnangagwa was "100 per cent involved in the poisoning of General Chiwenga" (referring to an incident in 2020 when Vice President Chiwenga was flown to China for medical attention) and further alleged that Mnangagwa had a hand in the deaths of several military generals, particularly during the COVID-19 era.

Geza appeared in some interviews on HSTv resulting in police announcing that he was being sought for questioning. The interviews also resulted in the arrest of the interviewee Blessed Mhlanga on 24 February, subsequently spending 72 days in Harare Remand Prison. Geza himself was never arrested and was believed to have become a fugitive.

On March 19, 2025, he publicly dismissed his ousting from the party, asserting that it was President Mnangagwa and his allies who should instead leave ZANU-PF. Geza, a war veteran himself, appeared to be leading or at least fronting a group of "disgruntled war veterans".

Eventually in March 2025 Geza announced that there would be demonstrations against President Mnangagwa on the 31st of March. The demonstrations did not happen even though many Zimbabweans stayed away from work.

In April 2025, Geza escalated his calls for civil action by urging a two-day national shutdown on April 22 and 23. He later called for an extension of this shutdown, demanding it continue until President Mnangagwa vacated office. On March 20, 2025, Geza also issued a warning to Kudakwashe Tagwirei, a prominent businessman and ally of President Mnangagwa, accusing him of monopolizing key sectors of the economy.