Following the stepping down of Dr McDonald Lewanika from the leadership of the Accountability Lab Zimbabwe (ALZ) secretariat on 17 December 2025, the Accountability Lab Zimbabwe board has appointed Mr Beloved Chiweshe as the new Country Director, effective 1 February 2026.

Mr Chiweshe succeeds Dr. Lewanika, who has taken on full-time responsibilities as Executive Director for Accountability Lab East and Southern Africa (ALESA).

Before his appointment, Mr Chiweshe served as Deputy Chief of Party for the New Narratives for Accountability in Zimbabwe (NNAZ) programme, and as Programmes and Campaigns Manager for ALZ from 2022 to 2023. In these roles, he contributed to programme design, oversight of implementation, partnership development, and organisational strategy.

Mr Chiweshe has over 15 years of experience in democracy, human rights, and governance programming in Zimbabwe. Before joining Accountability Lab, he managed the Peace and Human Rights Programme at the Embassy of Switzerland to Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi, where he oversaw diplomatic and political affairs and coordinated partner projects across the three countries. He previously worked as a Program Officer with PACT under the Civil Society Strengthening Programme, managing sub-grantees and providing technical support to partners on organisational development, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and reporting. He also served as Monitoring and Evaluation Officer for the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition and completed internships with Zimbabwe Watch (Amsterdam) and the Zimbabwe Europe Network (Brussels). 

Mr Chiweshe holds an Executive Master’s in Peace and Governance from Africa University, a Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Science from Utrecht University, and has undertaken additional training in monitoring and evaluation, journalism, public policy and political economy analysis from various institutions. As Country Director, Mr Chiweshe will lead the implementation of ALZ’s strategic plan, focusing on five thematic pillars: natural resource governance, public finance management, local governance, and climate justice, with electoral accountability and digital governance as potential areas of growth.

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Blessing Gorejena

Board Chairperson, Accountability Lab Zimbabwe

26 January 2026

For media inquiries, contact:

Bathabile Dlamini 

Regional Media & Communications Officer, Accountability Lab East and Southern Africa (ALESA)
Email: bathabile@accountabilitylab.org
Website: accountabilitylab.org