CIO SHADOW MONEY EXPOSED: SENTRY REPORT REVEALS STOLEN ELECTION THROUGH FAZ FUNDING

Zimbabwe stands on the edge of a political earthquake. A bombshell report by The Sentry, a global investigative watchdog known for exposing corrupt networks, has unearthed shocking evidence that Zimbabwe’s Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) secretly funneled funds to Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ) to rig the 2023 elections. This scandal, set for official release tomorrow, reveals that state intelligence was weaponized to ensure President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s re-election—illegally, covertly, and with devastating consequences for democracy.

The report, based on open-source data and exclusive financial records, zeroes in on a CIO-linked company that moved large sums of money into FAZ’s operations. This was not just government overreach. It was an institutional betrayal. The CIO, a body supposed to safeguard national security, operated as a secret political donor, hijacking Zimbabwe’s democracy to protect Zanu PF’s power.

The timing of this revelation is no accident. It comes just days after The Sentry’s previous exposé on FAZ’s election tactics, and adds hard evidence to what many Zimbabweans already knew: the 2023 elections were stolen, and they were stolen using our own intelligence services.

Southern Africa is watching. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has already rejected Zimbabwe’s election as flawed. Now, this report confirms their worst fears. It shows that what happened in Zimbabwe was not just a poorly managed poll—it was a full-blown intelligence-led operation to crush opposition and manufacture a false victory for Mnangagwa.

The implications are terrifying. A shadowy network of spies and party loyalists has infiltrated our elections, using illegal funds, unconstitutional tactics, and psychological warfare to stay in power. This is not governance. This is gangsterism wearing a presidential sash.

And yet, this is not new. Zimbabwe’s ruling elite has always relied on force, fear, and manipulation. But what this report makes clear is how deeply embedded and well-financed these tactics have become. The CIO didn’t just help Mnangagwa win—they bought the victory with secret money. They turned elections into a military-grade operation, with civilians as the casualties.

The silence from state media is deafening. ZBC won’t touch this story. The Herald won’t print a word. But the truth is out now, and it is global. The world will read this report. Donors, diplomats, and democracies will see that Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections were not a reflection of the people’s will but a choreographed performance staged by intelligence operatives in suits.

Where is Parliament in all this? Where are the supposed institutions of oversight? The courts? The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission? Silent, complicit, or both. Every official who allowed this heist of the ballot to happen should be investigated, named, and removed.

The opposition must act now. Civil society must act now. Zimbabweans must act now. This report is not just a warning—it is a blueprint of how dictatorship operates in the shadows. We can no longer pretend this was a fair election. The foundation of our so-called democracy has been hacked by a rogue security agency that answers not to the people, but to a dying party clinging to power.

As the report hits the public, we must demand answers. Demand investigations. Demand resignations. Demand reform.

Zimbabwe cannot heal while the CIO runs elections. We cannot rebuild while FAZ acts like a political militia. We cannot move forward when stolen money, silence, and surveillance dictate our future.

This is our moment to fight back—with truth, with unity, and with urgency.