HARARE The death of Blessed Runesu Geza, one of Zimbabwe’s most outspoken liberation war veterans and a fiery critic of the country’s leadership, has not only sent shockwaves across Zimbabwe’s political and social landscape. It has stirred fresh inspiration among Zimbabweans to choose dissent over comfort, principle over power, or money.

But first, who really was Geza?

Widely known by his nom de guerre “Bombshell,” he was true veteran of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle, a soldier, commander and political strategist who got strategic intelligence training in Romania.

His passing on 6 February 2026 in South Africa left a nation grappling with the legacy of a man who refused to soften his voice amid deepening political and constitutional crisis.

Geza, was part of the generation that fought in the Second Chimurenga, the armed struggle against white minority rule that culminated in Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980 and his standing among many veterans and grassroots activists reflected a life defined by resistance to oppression and a belief in the unfulfilled promise of liberation.

After independence, Geza became aligned with the ruling ZANU-PF and rose to serve on its Central Committee, positioning him within the core decision-making body of the party that had led the liberation struggle.

Geza’s political trajectory, however, transformed dramatically in the years following the November 2017 military intervention that ended the nearly four-decade-long rule of Robert Mugabe.

That intervention, backed by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, brought Emmerson Mnangagwa to power. While some heralded the change as a necessary correction, others saw it as a reshuffle of old powers. For Geza, the events of 2017 acted as a jolt, and once again pushed his lifelong belief that liberation was not merely a historical moment but an ongoing struggle for accountable governance.

In the years that followed, Geza emerged as one of the most vocal critics of President Mnangagwa’s corruption, nepotism, and betrayal the ideals for which Zimbabweans had fought. He became a leading figure among war veterans and civil society figures demanding accountability and constitutionalism, challenging what he called entrenched elites, often referred to in Zimbabwe’s political lexicon as “Zvigananda”, or self-serving power holders, who he said used liberation rhetoric to justify personal enrichment.

His public pronouncements, blunt and uncompromising, made him a commanding figure within and beyond political circles.

In early 2025, the ZANU-PF Politburo voted to expel Geza from the party, citing his calls for President Mnangagwa’s resignation and characterising his public statements as divisive.

Party officials said his actions showed disregard for party discipline and unity. After the expulsion, police launched a manhunt, seeking him on multiple criminal charges, including undermining the authority of the president and incitement to commit public violence, accusations his wide base of supporters viewed as politically motivated.

His outspoken calls for nationwide protests against the government in 2025, including demands for Mnangagwa’s resignation, drew fierce pushback from state authorities and a broader crackdown on dissent.

As pressure mounted, and after a series of confrontations with state security, Geza went into hiding, but he continued to speak out against corruption and constitutional erosion until the end.

In a letter shared shortly before his death, he wrote that he might not live to see “the new Zimbabwe” he envisioned, but urged Zimbabweans to carry forward the ideals he championed.

To supporters, Geza’s life reflected the unfinished nature of Zimbabwe’s liberation.

Veterans of other struggles across the continent, from South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement to Namibia’s fight for independence, have noted that the true test of revolutionaries comes not at the moment of victory but in the struggle to uphold democratic principles thereafter.

“A liberation that does not defend its constitution is a liberation betrayed,” said one veteran activist from Namibia, a viewpoint that is shared across Southern Africa.

Even his detractors acknowledged the passion he brought to debates about governance, accountability, and nationhood.

Geza’s death has stirred deep reflection among Zimbabweans young and old.

For many youths disillusioned with political stagnation and economic hardship, he became a figure, imperfect yet unbowed, representing an alternative voice in a crowded political landscape.

“He fought not for himself but for an idea of Zimbabwe where power serves the people,” one young activist said in Harare this week.

Despite the political divisions that marked his final years, Geza’s passing has united many in a moment of national mourning.

Blessed Runesu Geza may have died far from home, but his legacy, complex, contested, and compelling, will continue to inspire debate and action among Zimbabweans determined to carry forward the ideals he held to his last breath.