CLAIM: Central Bank of Zimbabwe sues Strive Masiyiwa over statements she (sic) made on live television
SOURCE: Various social media platforms
VERDICT: False
Summary: This is an elaborate ploy to scam people into depositing money into a currency trading platform called Nearest Edge, by falsely claiming that it has been endorsed by Strive Masiyiwa.
A claim that ‘Central Bank of Zimbabwe’ is suing businessman and philanthropist, Strive Masiyiwa, has been making rounds on social media platforms.
The screenshot shows a Zimbabwe Independent story with the headline ‘Central Bank of Zimbabwe sues Strive Masiyiwa over statements she made on live television’.
The story carries Gov Uzodimma on its by line and is dated 14 February 2025.
Verification
Even before going into a deeper search, there are tell tale signs to raise red flags for a lay person:
- Zimbabwe’s central bank is referred to as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
- The byline Gov Uzodimma is a red flag. It refers to Governor Hope Uzodimma of IMO State in Nigeria. The Zimbabwe Independent has no reporter by that name.
- Grammatical errors: reference to Masiyiwa as ‘she’ on the headline.
- Click bait caption on the picture: Strive Masiyiwa said live on air what no one was supposed to know.
FactCheckZW carried out an online search to see if the Zimbabwe Independent had carried this story and there was nothing online. Nor was the story carried by any other reputable media organisation in the country.
The only such story available online is from a Scribd document. The story is headlined ‘Central Bank of Zimbabwe sues Strive Masiyiwa’.
This story gives more context to these headlines and screenshots. Masiyiwa is said to have made these claims during a live interview on Newzroom Africa while talking to James Manyika when the ‘Central Bank called and demanded that the interview be stopped’.
Newzroom Afrika is a South African broadcaster and would not take direction from Zimbabwe’s ‘Central Bank’.
The whole interview transcript quoted in the story as having happened between Masiyiwa and Manyika is false and made up. The actual interview was aired in September 2023 and has not been deleted as claimed in the Scribd document.
Scam Alert
Why would someone go to such great lengths to create falsehoods targeting Masiyiwa?
The answer lies in the Scribd document. The story makes claims that Masiyiwa has a get rich quick scheme that he has used. It then provides this link with claims that the ‘Central Bank’ does not want people to know this ‘secret’ where they can turn $250 into a million in 12 to 15 weeks.
The created screenshots and story are a ploy to get people to sign onto a trading platform called Nearest Edge where they deposit $250 for quick returns. The use of Masiyiwa’s name is meant to legitimise this ploy and make people trust the platform due to these false claims that it has been endorsed by Masiyiwa or that that’s how he made his money.
While FactCheckZW is unable to confirm whether Nearest Edge is legit or not, its use of falsehoods and disinformation casts doubt on its integrity and legitimacy.
Conclusion
There is no truth in the claim that ‘Central Bank of Zimbabwe sues Strive Masiyiwa over statements she (sic) made on live television’. The Zimbabwe Independent screenshot is a photoshop of the newspaper’s articles. The whole story is a scam meant to get people on a currency trading platform by falsely linking Masiyiwa to it. Masiyiwa is not being sued by the Central Bank of Zimbabwe nor did he endorse the Nearest Edge trading platform.
