ZIMBABWE’S ELECTIONS WERE SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER

If anyone still doubted that Zimbabwe’s elections are for sale, the latest news from South Africa should end that debate once and for all. South African financial regulators are now circling a Johannesburg-based printing company called Ren-Form over suspected money laundering linked to the 2023 Zimbabwean elections. The scandal connects directly to one of Zimbabwe’s most controversial businessmen, Wicknell Chivayo, a man long known for his suspicious deals with the ZANU PF elite.

Ren-Form was the company contracted to supply election materials to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC). But new investigations have revealed that this deal was a grand act of corruption from the start. Ren-Form is accused of working with Chivayo to inflate prices, create fake invoices, and channel the money back to powerful people in Harare. It was never about serving democracy. It was about stealing from it.

Reports published by The Sentry and Open Secrets in South Africa’s Daily Maverick uncovered how Ren-Form and Chivayo turned Zimbabwe’s election into a cash cow. They sold equipment and materials at shocking prices, far above market value, and used the profits to fund kickbacks. The figures tell the story of a nation robbed in broad daylight. Ren-Form charged ZEC R23 million for a server that should cost around R90,000. They billed R68,700 for a single portable toilet that actually costs about R10,000. These are not simple errors — they are acts of theft from every Zimbabwean taxpayer.

What makes it worse is that Chivayo himself was caught in a leaked recording talking about how the money would be shared. In that recording, he used code names and initials while explaining how different top officials would get their cut. It was a conversation so casual, so confident, that it showed just how deep the rot has gone. The looters felt untouchable because they knew the system would protect them.

When Ren-Form’s sales director, Jean-Pierre du Sart, was asked about these dealings, he arrogantly defended Chivayo, saying, “He’s one of our agents over there, so there’s nothing wrong with that.” Nothing wrong? Everything is wrong with that. Looting public funds, bribing election officials, and destroying democracy are not normal business practices. They are crimes.

The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) claims it is investigating, but Zimbabweans have heard that line too many times. We know what “investigation” means in Zimbabwe — delay, cover-up, and silence. ZACC has never had the courage to take down anyone with real political power. So, once again, it is left to outsiders to do what our own institutions refuse to do.

That is why the South African probe is so important. It means this scandal has crossed borders. It means there is still a chance that justice might come, even if not from within Zimbabwe. The investigation into Ren-Form could finally pull the curtain back on how our elections are bought, sold, and rigged through money and manipulation.

This story is bigger than overpaid servers and toilets. It is about how our democracy has been auctioned off to the highest bidder. Every inflated invoice was another vote stolen, another dream denied. While the people of Zimbabwe struggle to survive, a small group of men enriched themselves off an election that was supposed to represent our voices.

We are tired of lies. We are tired of commissions that go nowhere. We are tired of pretending that everything is fine when it is not. Zimbabwe deserves leaders who serve the people, not thieves who sell our future. This time, the world is watching. And so are we — waiting to see if justice will finally come for those who sold our elections and betrayed our nation.