Assassination plot against Chiwenga revealed

Allegations surfaced that an assassin was hired to track and kill Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga amid increasing factional struggles in Zimbabwe’s ruling party, Zanu PF, over the succession of President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The claims were revealed in a leaked, classified document believed to originate from the U.S. government.

The document describes a Belarusian-linked asset, codenamed “BEDROCK,” hired to assassinate Chiwenga, referred to by his liberation-war name, Dominic Chinenge. Chiwenga, a key player in the 2017 military-assisted removal of Robert Mugabe, had recently clashed with Mnangagwa’s allies, particularly over corruption allegations. The intelligence report suggests that BEDROCK had been monitoring Chiwenga and preparing for an operation, with a payment of US$100,000 made to finance the plot.

The report also mentions that Chiwenga’s DNA and urine samples were analyzed in case he used countermeasures. The United States, along with Five Eyes intelligence partners, is aware of the operation, which links BEDROCK to a Belarusian unit involved in previous missions in Iraq and Equatorial Guinea. Neither the U.S., Zimbabwean, nor Belarusian governments have commented on the leaked information, which remains classified under U.S. national security laws.