HARARE — Former Foreign Affairs Minister Walter Mzembi is living at his nephew’s home in Harare after reports that his wife, Barbra Hernandez, sold properties linked to the couple for more than US$2 million while he was outside Zimbabwe.
According to TelZim, the reported property sales have placed a new cloud over the former minister’s return to public life, coming months after he was acquitted in a long-running criminal abuse of office case and as his attempt to rejoin ZANU PF runs into fresh difficulties in Masvingo.
People familiar with the matter say Mzembi was left with little after several houses and other assets were disposed of during his years away from the country. He is now staying with Amiel Matindike, a nephew whose family has remained close to the Mzembis and the prominent Zvobgo family.
The Matindikes also looked after Mzembi during his imprisonment after he returned to Zimbabwe in 2025. His current circumstances have drawn attention because he was once one of the most visible and influential ministers in Robert Mugabe’s government, with a political career that reached from Parliament to the Foreign Affairs ministry.
Mzembi has not confirmed that he lost his property portfolio, but his response to questions about the reported US$2 million value suggested that the figure may not reflect the full value of the assets involved.
“US$2 million yoga here? Just US$2 million?” he asked.
He also dismissed the idea that the loss of buildings would end his ability to recover, saying: “Haa makuhwa ayo asi chero vakatora kuti vakatora nenjere here? These are just mere rumours, but even if it’s true, did they take all the brick and mortar and my brains?”
When asked how Hernandez could have sold properties said to have been co-owned by the couple, Mzembi challenged the suggestion that he had made a complaint against her.
“Is anyone complaining that she sold her own properties? Haven’t I complained as a co-owner, as you say? There is nothing I have confirmed here. I have my own stock of assets, and I have not complained to anyone,” he said.
People close to the former minister maintain that he was left with almost nothing in his name. His public appearances have added to the speculation. He has repeatedly been seen wearing a distinctive purple suit, including during proceedings linked to his criminal case and at the funeral of Sekuru Tinos Jesmiel Rushwaya, the father of Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Martin Rushwaya.
The suit has become a recognisable feature of his appearances, with observers noting that he appears to have continued wearing it at different public events. His presence at those gatherings has also underlined the contrast between his former official status and his reported dependence on relatives for accommodation.
Mzembi’s fall from power began after the political upheaval that removed Mugabe in November 2017. He was associated with Generation 40, the faction of younger politicians aligned with Mugabe and opposed to the rise of Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Lacoste faction. Mzembi, Saviour Kasukuwere, Jonathan Moyo and other G40 figures were forced out of the ruling party as the balance of power changed.
Mzembi left Zimbabwe in 2018, first spending time in South Africa before later relocating to Zambia. He remained outside the country while corruption-related cases hung over him. His return in June 2025 was followed by an arrest over allegations linked to public-viewing television sets that had been distributed to churches during his time as Tourism Minister.
The case centred on television equipment originally acquired for public viewing and later placed at churches, including the United Family International Church, Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries and the Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa. Prosecutors argued that Mzembi had abused his office by donating government equipment and showing favouritism.
On 13 May 2026, the High Court acquitted him. The court found that the State had not proved the essential elements of the charge. The judge said the evidence showed that the ministry had handled the distribution of the equipment, while key witnesses had not established that Mzembi personally authorised a donation. The court also heard that the screens remained government property and were recorded on ministry inventory sheets.
Mzembi formally applied to rejoin the party this year, nearly nine years after his membership was withdrawn. In the letter presented to the Masvingo provincial executive council, he wrote: “I write to respectfully apply for readmission into Zanu PF. My membership was rescinded by a special emergency central committee meeting on November 19, 2017. I sincerely wish to renew my membership and contribute positively to its programmes and activities. Zanu PF is a party of depth, and I wish to contribute to its development. I commit to uphold the constitution of the party if readmitted.”
The application divided party members. Some supported his return on the condition that he would rejoin at cell level and would not seek a leadership post. Others objected to what they described as critical posts on Facebook and X. The provincial executive decided that he should appear before party officials and answer questions about the messages attributed to him.
Masvingo provincial chair Robson Mavhenyengwa said Mzembi failed to attend the first meeting.
“We had summoned him to appear before the party provincial executive council meeting where we wanted him to explain himself over some social media posts attributed to him that were critical of the party,” Mavhenyengwa said.
“He did not turn up for the meeting ostensibly because our secretariat failed to reach him, but we hope that he will appear before the provincial executive council during our next meeting.”
He added: “He applied to rejoin the party and during deliberations to determine his application it emerged that he was posting some undesirable social media messages so we resolved to have him come and explain himself and we will wait for him.”
Mavhenyengwa also rejected claims that the former minister had already been cleared to return.
“We only resolved to recommend the readmission of Cde Kudakwashe Gopo of Bikita, but with (Mr) Mzembi we are not done yet,” he said.
Any decision by the Masvingo leadership would still have to be forwarded to the national party leadership before Mzembi’s readmission could be formalised.
The political comeback is being pursued against the backdrop of a sharp reversal in Mzembi’s fortunes. He entered Parliament in 2004 after winning the Masvingo South by-election following the death of Eddison Zvobgo. He was re-elected in 2005, 2008 and 2013, chaired Parliament’s Agriculture, Lands and Resettlement Portfolio Committee and later became a prominent tourism minister before taking charge of Foreign Affairs.
He was once viewed as a rising figure in the succession contest around Mugabe. Now, after years in exile, a lengthy imprisonment, a costly family property dispute and an uncertain return to the ruling party, Mzembi is attempting to rebuild from a very different position.
His own response remains defiant. Even as reports describe a man living under a relative’s roof and trying to recover his political footing, he insists that the most important asset was never made of brick and mortar: his ability to start again.