Chiwenga’s Wife Sabotaged Mnangagwa’s SONA Address With Power Cut, Alleges Temba Mliswa

Temba Mliswa Accuses VP Chiwenga’s Wife Of SONA Sabotage

In a stunning accusation that has set social media ablaze, firebrand former MP Temba Mliswa has publicly alleged that Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s wife, Colonel Miniyothabo “Minnie” Baloyi Chiwenga, was responsible for the embarrassing power cut that interrupted President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA). The dramatic blackout occurred on Tuesday, 28 October 2025, at the new parliament building in Mount Hampden, forcing the President to conclude his speech under torchlight.

A Serious Allegation Of Sabotage

Mliswa, who has been running an online campaign against the Vice President, did not mince his words. He directly accused Colonel Baloyi Chiwenga of orchestrating the power failure to sabotage the President. He further alleged that she is a member of the Military Intelligence Directorate (MID), creating a serious conflict of interest.

Introducing his explosive claim, Mliswa said:

“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, that being the case she certainly has the interests of her husband. We know the interests, we know how eager he is to become president of the country. In so doing, she will serve the interests of her husband and not the country.”

Mliswa argued that these were not isolated incidents. He pointed out that normal parliamentary sittings are not interrupted by power cuts, yet President Mnangagwa has suffered two such outages during major events. He said this was evidence of sabotage.

Conflicting Narratives And A Suspended Official

The claims emerge amidst a confusing official response. Abel Gurupira, the acting managing director of the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC), was suspended in connection with the blackout. An internal memo signed by ZESA Holdings acting group CEO Cletus Nyachowe cited both the SONA blackout and a previous outage during the ZANU-PF conference in Mutare.

However, this explanation was later contradicted by a statement from Parliament Clerk Kennedy Chokuda on 29 October. He revealed that the new parliament had deliberately disconnected itself from ZESA supply and was running on a hired generator during the address.

Chokuda explained:

“When supplies were lost, the generator was still running but not supplying power. Preliminary investigations indicate that a circuit breaker supplying the load had tripped. The restoration took longer than expected, resulting in part of the SONA being delivered without power supply.”

This admission suggested that the blackout was linked to Parliament’s own internal systems, not ZESA. It raised serious questions about why the ZETDC boss was suspended when ZESA had been kept only on standby.

A “Parallel Structure” And Calls For Retirement

Building on his accusations, Mliswa claimed that Colonel Baloyi Chiwenga was effectively running a “parallel structure” within military intelligence that undermined the official command chain.

“She is running a parallel structure…The commander of MID certainly does not tolerate her. In not tolerating her, she is able to run a parallel structure. You cannot have a parallel structure from a security perspective,” said Mliswa.

He insisted that she should be retired from her military role and encouraged to pursue charity work instead.

The former MP concluded with a warning to President Mnangagwa not to be “too accommodating” towards people plotting his downfall. He described such figures as “snakes in the house” that should be “crushed before they bite.”

Meanwhile, the blackout has ignited fierce debate online, with reactions ranging from outrage to dismissal. Some users supported Mliswa’s claims, while others called them “madness” and “nonsense.” The government has not yet issued an official response to the specific allegations against the Vice President’s wife.