Former Norton legislator Temba Mliswa accused Colonel Miniyothabo Baloyi, wife of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, of using military intelligence position to advance her husband’s political ambitions in comments posted on social media Thursday.
Mliswa claimed Baloyi operates parallel command structures within Military Intelligence Department (MID) that compromise national security. He alleged she serves her husband’s interests rather than the state.
“The problem that we have which I must say to the nation, is that we also have the wife of the Vice President who is part of the intelligence of the army which is MID,” Mliswa said in video remarks Thursday. “We know how eager he is to become the president of the country.”
The accusations follow power outage that interrupted President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s State of the Nation Address on Tuesday. Mnangagwa completed his speech under torchlight at the new parliament building in Mount Hampden.
Mliswa directly blamed Baloyi for orchestrating the blackout, though he provided no evidence. Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company suspended Managing Director Abel Gurupira following the incident.
Parliament Clerk Kennedy Chokuda said Wednesday the building was running on hired generator during the address. Circuit breaker tripped causing the outage, according to his statement.
“She is running a parallel structure and it is important that the President knows,” Mliswa said, calling for Baloyi’s retirement from military service.
Critics accused Mliswa of hypocrisy, noting he has not called for retirement of President Mnangagwa’s son Sean, who holds rank of Major in the military.
The allegations emerge amid intensifying succession battles within ruling ZANU PF party. Mnangagwa’s term expires in 2028, with loyalists pushing for two-year extension.
Baloyi joined army before marrying Chiwenga in June 2022, according to military records. She was photographed at official handover of 102 vehicles to Zimbabwe Defence Forces in September.
Leaked audio recordings suggest Mliswa received payment to attack Chiwenga while supporting faction seeking to extend Mnangagwa’s term and position businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei as successor.
Neither Chiwenga’s office nor military spokespersons responded to requests for comment Thursday.
