By Staff Reporter
HARARE — Zanu PF political activist Sybeth Musengezi, known for his high-profile legal challenges against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s leadership, has formally left the ruling party and launched a new political party, Suthisa ilizwe – Gutsaruzhinji (SI-G).
In an interview announcing the new movement, Musengezi said he was compelled to break with “Zanu PF” because the party had strayed from the values of the liberation struggle.
“My former party Zanu PF has long diverted from the founding values of the liberation struggle.
“I tried to be patient but it looks like they continue moving in the opposite direction at a very high speed, so the best way was to leave and start something that will really benefit the country and its citizens,” he said.
Musengezi first came to national prominence as a vocal and sometimes controversial figure within “Zanu PF” when he filed a series of legal challenges questioning Mnangagwa’s ascendancy to party and national leadership.
In October 2021, he filed court papers seeking to nullify the 19 November 2017 “Zanu PF” central committee meeting that confirmed Mnangagwa as party leader after the military-backed removal of long-time President Robert Mugabe, arguing that the process violated the party’s constitution and, by extension, the national constitution.
Musengezi’s a bid was however, ultimately unsuccessful in overturning Mnangagwa’s position.
Last Friday on January 16, 2026, Musengezi notified the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) of the establishment of Suthisa ilizwe – Gutsaruzhinji (SI-G), seeking guidance on compliance with the Electoral Act and requesting inclusion on the official register of political parties to participate in future elections.
He stated in his formal letter that SI-G would provide all required documents, including its constitution and leadership details, and that only structures authorised by the party’s national leadership should be recognised in political and electoral activities.
Musengezi’s reasons for departing “Zanu PF” and founding SI-G reflect longstanding criticism of the ruling party’s direction, which he says has abandoned core principles such as equitable resource distribution, human dignity and inclusive governance.
He lamented that corruption has become endemic under “Zanu PF” and that Zimbabwe has effectively been captured by a politically connected elite while the majority of citizens struggle.
Musengezi also dismissed claims that his decision was driven by personal ambition, insisting instead that it was motivated by a desire to forge “a formidable opposition party that will dislodge this criminal Zanu PF government.”
“My decision was not driven by personal ambition but by the need to serve the people of Zimbabwe (national interests).
“Opposition was finished in 2023 just after the national elections and the political landscape is already fragmented so there was no opposition to talk about before we came in,” said Musengezi.
He further accused the current opposition parties of being Zanu PF proxies that survive on funding from the ruling party.
“The other current opposition political outfits only exist because they twerk and receive trinkets for survival from Zanu PF.
“They clearly are not serving any national interests but just there to feed their own stomachs by being part of the gravy train while purporting to be representing the suffering Zimbabweans,” added Musengezi.
