A deeply entrenched and highly coordinated campaign to weaken Zimbabwe’s Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) has been uncovered, with state security sources revealing both foreign and domestic actors behind the clandestine effort.
According to a retired security analyst the motive is clear, and these operators seek to diminish President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa’s power by attacking the very institution that forms the backbone of his strategic governance, which is intelligence.
The CIO, restructured and reinforced under President Mnangagwa’s direct leadership, has long been central to Zimbabwe’s internal stability and national defence.
But elements seeking to disrupt the country’s leadership have now shifted their focus toward crippling the agency from within.
The plot first emerged during the tenure of former Director General Isaac Moyo.
Repeated attempts were made to smear Moyo’s reputation and sever his ties with the President.
However, those efforts failed to fracture the strong bond of trust between the two.
When Fulton Mangwanya assumed leadership, the attackers recalibrated their strategy they no longer focusing solely on top-down assaults, but instead seeding internal mistrust and division across the Organisation.
Mangwanya and several senior and mid-level operatives have since become targets in a renewed offensive designed to paralyse the institution’s cohesion and effectiveness.
Security insiders now confirm that this destabilization effort is not solely orchestrated from abroad.
In fact, a significant dimension of the campaign involves internal actors who are within the security sector.
These include both retired and redeployed operatives, some of whom are collaborating with senior politicians in an effort to shield their own subversive dealings.
Their objective is to discredit and fracture the intelligence community before it can fully expose or neutralize their activities.
“The local players working hand-in-glove with John Prendergast and other foreign influencers are not unknown to the state.
“Their tactics, language, and methods have been fully identified,” a senior official close to the matter confirmed.
“They are using social media, ghost accounts, and even respected international NGOs to drive misinformation and manufacture chaos.”
John Prendergast’s Washington-based nonprofit, The Sentry, continues to be named as a central vehicle in the global narrative campaign targeting the CIO.
Though the organisation purports to investigate corruption in Africa, Zimbabwean officials say it has taken a distinctly political and destabilizing tone, acting as a platform to legitimize misinformation and support the agenda of anti-state actors.
But despite the veil of anonymity these actors hide behind, President Mnangagwa is fully aware of the plot and the personalities behind it.
Sources close to the corridors of power state that the Head of State has been closely monitoring these developments and is alive to the motives and machinations of those he has called “devils trying to poison the President’s Department.”
“These individuals may hide behind international media, foreign NGOs, and ghost accounts, but they cannot hide from the truth or from justice,” said a source.
In response, the state security establishment has activated robust countermeasures. Internal audits, reviews, and quiet investigations are already underway.
Key figures behind the offensive, both locally and internationally, are being monitored, and their influence networks and modus operandi are being mapped.
What has become clear is that this is more than an internal power struggle; it is a full-scale assault on the sovereignty of Zimbabwe’s intelligence infrastructure, coordinated across political, military, and foreign fronts.
But as history has shown, the CIO forged in revolution and tempered in decades of nation-building is not easily broken and President Emmerson Mnangagwa is highly skilled at intelligence and intelligence operations those behind the assault will be left with egg in their face.
President Mnangagwa is reportedly determined to purge the agency of saboteurs and fortify its ranks, ensuring that the intelligence community remains loyal to the Constitution, the people, and the long-term security of the state.
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