Tuckshop rivalries turn ugly as DRC refugee accuses CIO, immigration of kidnapping 

HARARE – Intense business rivalries among foreign tuckshop operators in Harare have spilled into the corridors of state power, with a Congolese businessman and recognised refugee, Desire Nsengimana, accusing Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operatives and an Immigration compliance officer of kidnapping, harassment, and attempts to deport him under false pretences.

In a complaint dated November 7, 2025, Nsengimana, through his lawyers Rubaya and Chatambudza Legal Practitioners, alleges that some Rwandan refugees in Harare’s informal business sector are feeding false intelligence to security agencies in a plot to eliminate him from competition.

“This appears to be a brazen weaponisation of state security and immigration apparatus in a campaign of persecution against our client,” his lawyers wrote to the Zimbabwe Independent Complaints Commission (ZICC) executive secretary.

Nsengimana’s case lifts the lid on what insiders describe as fierce commercial turf wars between foreign traders, particularly Rwandans and Congolese, who dominate Harare’s booming tuckshop economy.

According to his lawyers, Nsengimana was abducted on June 10, 2025, by men claiming to be CIO agents who branded him an “enemy of the state” and accused him of being a Rwandan intelligence operative deployed to target other refugees.

He maintains that he is a Democratic Republic of Congo national, not Rwandan, and that the accusations stem purely from jealousy and rivalry within Harare’s refugee-run business networks.

After the alleged abduction, Nsengimana was reportedly handed over to an immigration officer named only as Machona, who instructed him to report to the department the next day. Upon arrival, he was told he would be detained at Harare Remand Prison as a prohibited person awaiting deportation to Rwanda.

The letter alleges that Machona later admitted the move was directed by “powerful CIO members connected to a clique of Rwandan refugees.”

His lawyers argue that their client’s ordeal demonstrates “a disturbing abuse of state institutions for private commercial interests.”

“Our client has been branded an enemy of the state on the basis of gossip and commercial envy. This is unlawful persecution of a recognised refugee protected under the Refugees Act,” the firm said.

Nsengimana’s official refugee status, confirmed by the Commissioner for Refugees on November 27, 2014, remains valid. His lawyers insist he is entitled to protection under both Zimbabwean and international refugee law, not persecution.

The ZICC and the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs have since acknowledged receipt of the complaint, which seeks a full investigation into the conduct of the CIO officers and immigration officials involved.