Busted! Anti-sanctions boss ousted over US$26K borehole scam

In a damning letter dated 9 March 2026, seen by ZiFM Stereo News, the board of Citizens Against Economic Sanctions (CAES) formally expelled its chairman and executive director Martin Zharare, accusing him of fraud, theft and misappropriation of funds collected from desperate villagers across several provinces.

The letter issued from the organisation’s offices at No. 2 Manby Avenue, Harare, states that an internal review allegedly uncovered a pattern of financial misconduct linked to a borehole drilling scheme in which communities were asked to pay US$1,800 per borehole.

According to the board, the projects were never carried out.

“Following an internal review and investigation, it has been established that you were involved in acts of fraud, misappropriation of funds, and theft,” the board wrote in the letter addressed to Zharare.

The allegations paint the picture of an organisation whose leader allegedly leveraged its proximity to political power and its anti-sanctions activism to extract money from some of Zimbabwe’s poorest communities.

The board claims the alleged scheme targeted rural districts already grappling with chronic water shortages.

Matabeleland North appears to have been among the worst affected.

The letter states that more than 50 boreholes in Binga district alone were never drilled, despite communities allegedly paying thousands of dollars in advance.

“Matabeleland North has been grossly affected, with more than 50 boreholes undrilled, each borehole costing USD 1,800,” the board wrote.

It also cites EcoCash transaction records, which board members claim shows Zharare receiving US$1,800 from a villager identified as Muleya of Binga, referencing transfer codes F32444, K75554 and F40207.

The board further alleges that Zharare collected US$1,200 in Zaka district under the guise of a membership drive, funds which it says were never accounted for and have now been classified among the financial irregularities under investigation.

The accusations extend beyond financial misconduct into claims that vulnerable individuals were directly targeted.

Board members allege that on 6 October 2025, Zharare traveled to Binga, where he defrauded a 90-year-old woman of US$1,800 for a borehole that was never drilled.

Another alleged victim, Thabani Moyo of Dobola, Ward 16 in Binga, was reportedly invited to Bulawayo on 12 August 2025, where he was told CAES had an office in the city.

But according to the board, the office was mysteriously “closed”.

Instead, Moyo was allegedly instructed to sign an exercise book outside the premises and hand over US$1,800 in cash.

The borehole, the board says, was never drilled.

The allegations widen further.

In Mashonaland Central, the board claims Zharare allegedly defrauded US$1,500 from a woman identified as Mrs. Magarate.

The matter, according to the letter, has already been reported to the Zimbabwe Republic Police in Mount Darwin under case reference RRB 6771010.

Board members say additional villagers in the province were also allegedly defrauded of US$7,500 under the same borehole scheme.

In another startling allegation, the letter claims Zharare created a fictitious administrative ward in Mhondoro Ngezi labeled “Ward 4B” and used it to allegedly withdraw agricultural inputs valued at more than US$6,000.

The board says the listed beneficiaries do not exist in the organisation’s database.

The alleged fraud trail stretches yet again to Bubi district, where the board claims villagers were allegedly fleeced of US$4,500 for boreholes that were never drilled.

Taken together, the accusations outlined by the board suggest villagers across Zimbabwe may have lost more than US$26,000 in the alleged scheme.

CAES vice chairperson Ellison Muchenje Samuriwo, speaking in a telephone interview, described what he said was a clandestine operation carried out outside the knowledge of the organisation’s leadership.

“He has been moving across the country alone, collecting money from communities while claiming the organisation had been tasked with drilling boreholes,” Samuriwo said.

“But after pocketing the money, the projects never happened, and now he claims he has no idea where the funds are.”

Samuriwo said the alleged scheme only began to unravel when communities started demanding answers.

“The truth only exploded when we started receiving frantic phone calls from communities across the country demanding their money back. That is when we realised something was terribly wrong.”

According to Samuriwo, the board believes the true scale of the alleged scam may be far higher.

“The amount involved could easily exceed US$40,000 because in some cases communities were forced to make down payments of up to US$800.”

He also claimed that even traditional leaders were allegedly misled.

“Even a traditional leader was not spared. A chief recently contacted us expressing his anger and disappointment after realising he had also been duped.”

In perhaps one of the most troubling allegations, Samuriwo claimed communities were allegedly told that the drilling would be carried out using a government drilling rig, yet villagers were charged US$1,800, more than double what he described as the typical US$800 cost.

“What makes it even more shocking is that the drilling was allegedly being done using a government rig, yet communities were charged an inflated US$1,800 instead of the normal US$800,” he said.

The board says it attempted to intervene when complaints first surfaced.

“When the first reports came in, we tried to caution him,” Samuriwo said.

“Instead, he became arrogant and defiant, boasting that he was the founder and no one could tell him how to run the organisation.”

According to the vice chairman, the situation escalated to the point where ZANU PF’s commissariat allegedly summoned the organisation’s leadership on 18 December 2025 following mounting complaints.

“Even that warning did not stop him,” Samuriwo said.

The board claims that by January 2026, Zharare had effectively disappeared.

“Right now, his phone number is no longer going through. He has vanished. He has completely gone off the radar.”

The expulsion letter states that during a national executive meeting held in Gweru on 7 March 2026, CAES leaders passed a vote of no confidence in Zharare’s leadership.

The board says his conduct was found to be “inconsistent with the principles and values upheld by the organisation” and contrary to the governance principles associated with President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.

“You adversely affected our mobilisation strategy, as we have 700,000 members across all 10 provinces,” the letter states.

Zharare has been ordered to immediately return all organisational property, documents, and presidential inputs in his possession.

The organisation also warned that it reserves the right to cooperate fully with law enforcement authorities and pursue further legal action.

Efforts to obtain Zharare’s response to the allegations were unsuccessful.

His registered mobile number is not going through, repeatedly diverting to voicemail, while WhatsApp messages sent to the number are not being delivered.

Meanwhile, CAES leaders say more victims may still be emerging.

“We are urging everyone who paid money to come forward and report because more victims are still emerging every day,” Samuriwo said. –ZiFM Stereo News

Reporting by Anesu Masamvu