The Stench of Electoral Corruption Spreads to South Africa

If there was ever any doubt that Zimbabwe’s elections are for sale, the latest revelations coming out of South Africa should put that debate to rest.

South African financial regulators are now circling Ren-Form, a Johannesburg-based printing company, over suspected money laundering activities directly linked to the 2023 Zimbabwean elections. This comes after explosive investigative reports exposed the company’s shady dealings with controversial Zimbabwean businessman and ZANU PF tenderpreneur, Wicknell Chivayo.

Ren-Form — a company that was contracted to supply election materials to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) — is accused of grossly inflating prices and facilitating kickbacks to Zimbabwean officials. The scale of the corruption is staggering.

Last year, an investigation by The Sentry and Open Secrets, published in South Africa’s Daily Maverick, blew the lid off the scandal. It revealed how Ren-Form partnered with Chivayo to supply election materials at wildly inflated prices — with the clear intention of using the proceeds to grease the palms of well-placed officials in Harare.

According to The NewsHawks, Ren-Form invoiced ZEC an outrageous R23 million for a server that should cost no more than R90,000. They also billed ZEC R68,700 for portable toilets — units that retail for around R10,000. These are not just numbers. This is theft from the Zimbabwean taxpayer on an industrial scale.

More damning is the leaked recording of Chivayo himself casually discussing how the loot from this scandal would be shared among powerful individuals in Zimbabwe. Using code names and initials, Chivayo openly outlined the corrupt network of officials benefitting from the plunder of state resources.

When confronted, Ren-Form’s sales director, Jean-Pierre du Sart, arrogantly dismissed concerns, saying of Chivayo: “He’s one of our agents over there, so there’s nothing wrong with that.” Nothing wrong? Facilitating the looting of Zimbabwe’s electoral budget to bankroll the lifestyles of a corrupt elite is everything wrong.

The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) claims to be investigating, but Zimbabweans have little faith in its willingness or ability to hold politically connected criminals accountable.

The fact that South African authorities are now probing Ren-Form is significant. It means this scandal is no longer just a Zimbabwean problem. It has crossed borders. It has exposed regional networks of corruption. And it raises a critical question:

→ Will the looters finally face justice when external regulators get involved?

Zimbabweans have grown tired of local commissions of inquiry that go nowhere. We have seen enough of the looting, the lies, and the abuse of power. It is time for real accountability — not just for Chivayo, but for every ZEC official and government figure who sold our democracy to the highest bidder.

This is not just about overpriced servers or toilets. This is about the deliberate subversion of Zimbabwe’s elections — and by extension, our future.

We are watching. And the world is finally watching too.