HARARE – A fresh storm has erupted in Zimbabwe after revelations that luxury vehicles recently handed out to military generals and senior ZANU PF officials may be fitted with surveillance technology, sparking alarm within the ruling elite.
According to leaked internal correspondence circulating among army personnel, some of the vehicles distributed this week are allegedly “geo-locked” and equipped with advanced tracking devices. The systems are believed to include GPS monitoring, as well as miniature black boxes capable of recording audio, video, and phone calls inside the vehicles.
“If you think you were simply given a car, think again,” one senior security source told this publication on condition of anonymity. “These are not gifts. They are tools of control. Every movement, every conversation can be tracked.”
The vehicle handouts come amid deepening fissures within ZANU PF, where President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputy Constantino Chiwenga are increasingly at odds over succession. Analysts suggest the alleged surveillance technology reflects growing paranoia within Mnangagwa’s camp, which fears potential plots by rival factions in the military and party.
“Mnangagwa is trying to buy loyalty with cars while at the same time keeping tabs on his own generals,” political analyst Takura Mapuranga said. “It’s both carrot and stick — reward and surveillance.”
To All Army Personnel who Received Vehicles Yesterday. Some of the Vehicles are “GEO LOCKED”
1. they have tracking device
2. they have mini-boack box to record audio, video and callsBe Warned!! pic.twitter.com/TT3hl2aPBC
— African (@ali_naka) September 30, 2025
Sources within ZANU PF confirmed that senior party chiefs, provincial leaders, and members of the politburo also received top-of-the-range vehicles as part of what officials publicly described as “logistical support.” However, critics say the handouts are part of a patronage scheme designed to silence dissent and secure backing ahead of a bruising leadership battle.
Opposition parties have slammed the development, accusing the ruling elite of looting state resources while ordinary citizens endure hyperinflation, fuel shortages, and crumbling infrastructure. “It is disgraceful that billions are being poured into buying loyalty when hospitals lack medicine and civil servants are paid starvation wages,” said CCC spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi.
The revelations have also unsettled some within the military ranks. A mid-level officer who received one of the new vehicles said suspicions were already rife. “We were warned by colleagues not to discuss sensitive issues in these cars. People are afraid this is Mnangagwa’s way of listening in on us,” the officer said.
Government officials have so far declined to comment on the surveillance claims, but insiders suggest the vehicles were procured through a deal with a foreign supplier aligned to Mnangagwa’s business allies.
As whispers of mistrust spread through the barracks and party corridors, the vehicle controversy has become another flashpoint in Zimbabwe’s turbulent politics — exposing the extent to which paranoia and power struggles define life at the very top of ZANU PF.
