Walter Mzembi (born 16 March 1964) is a

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

an politician. He previously served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

and Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry. He was the

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of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

for Masvingo South ( ZANU-PF). It was announced on November 27, 2017, that Simbarashe Mumbengegwi was now the acting Foreign Minister of Zimbabwe. In October 2020, it was revealed Mzembi was among those who fled to South Africa before their criminal trials could be completed.

Early life

Mzembi was born to a Ndebele mother and a Karanga Shona father.

Career

When the ZANU-PF– Movement for Democratic Change

national unity government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other na ...

was sworn in on February 13, 2009, Mzembi became Minister of Tourism. Since 2007, he is placed on the

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sanctions list. He helped organize the UNWTO co-hosted by Zimbabwe and

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

in August 2013. In 2017 Mzembi was the candidate of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

for the position of the 2018-21 Secretary-General of the

World Tourism Organization The United Nations World Tourism Organization or UN Tourism (formerly UNWTO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which promotes responsible, sustainable and universally-accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. Othe ...

. On 19 November 2017, Mzembi was expelled from ZANU–PF by the party's central committee. Other prominent G40 politicians, including

Grace Mugabe Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe (formerly Goreraza, Birth name, née Marufu; born 23 July 1965) is a Zimbabwean entrepreneur, politician and the widow of the late President Robert Mugabe. She served as the First Lady of Zimbabwe from 1996 until her hus ...

, Saviour Kasukuwere, Patrick Zhuwao,

Ignatius Chombo Ignatius Morgen Chiminya Chombo (born 1 August 1952) is a Zimbabwean politician who was Finance Minister of Zimbabwe in 2017. Previously he has served in the Cabinet of Zimbabwe as Minister of Home Affairs from 2015 to 2017, Minister of Local ...

, Jonathan Moyo, Shadreck Mashayamombe, Makhosini Hlongwane, Innocent Hamandishe,

Samuel Undenge Samuel Undenge (born 1956) is a Zimbabwean politician. He is the former Energy and Power Development Minister. Until 2018 he was a member of parliament from the Chimanimani East constituency in Manicaland Province. He was formerly the Minister of ...

and Sarah Mahoka were also expelled from the party. His predecessor, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, would also become acting Minister of Foreign Affairs on 27 November 2017 as well. He resurfaced at a scheduled parliamentary seating on the 28 November 2017 where he seemed jovial and loyal to the new leadership. He first went to greet First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa followed by handshakes with several other MPs.

Corruption case, departure from Zimbabwe and extradition request

Mzembi was arrested on 5 January 2018 and appeared in court on the next day where he was granted bail. The case has however dragged with his lawyers citing his ill health. He was however seen in a video circulating on social media appearing fit. He was arrested over allegedly misuse of resources meant for a tourism conference in 2013. On October 12, 2020, it was revealed Mzembi fled to South Africa before his criminal trial could be completed and that Zimbabwe's national prosecutors met with South Africa Prosecutor-General Kumbirai Hodzi to seek extradition of both Mzembi and Saviour Kasukuwere on corruption charges. However, Hodzi hesitated and demanded that the proposed extraditions be based on the Extradition (Designated Countries) Order of 1990. Zimbabwe's prosecutor general stated that both Mzembi and Kasukuwere “had their cases before the courts, but they fled before their trials were completed.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mzembi, Walter 1964 births Living people Members of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe Government ministers of Zimbabwe Foreign ministers of Zimbabwe Northern Ndebele people Shona people Members of the 5th Parliament of Zimbabwe Members of the 6th Parliament of Zimbabwe Members of the 7th Parliament of Zimbabwe Members of the 8th Parliament of Zimbabwe