Shake-up at RioZim …as miner battles for survival
SAMANTHA MADE
Embattled resources firm, RioZim Limited, has undergone a dramatic leadership overhaul, appointing seasoned investment strategist Caleb Dengu as chairman in a last-ditch bid to stabilise the struggling miner.
The move follows the departure of Saleem Rashid Beebeejaun on July 7, 2025, and comes as the company faces an existential crisis marked by financial paralysis, shareholder turmoil, and looming receivership.
The once-mighty conglomerate also named Vinit Saxena, a techno-managerial leader with more than 25 years’ experience in security operations, risk mitigation, and asset protection, as executive director. Kothagundla Srinivas, a veteran finance executive, was appointed as non-executive director.
RioZim’s restructuring comes against a backdrop of mounting financial distress.
According to the workers union, the group has struggled to meet some obligations including wage obligations,and settle electricity bills, among many others.
The crisis has been compounded by leadership uncertainty following the sudden death of Harpal Randhawa, the company’s majority shareholder, in a plane crash two years ago.
The loss has left RioZim vulnerable to boardroom battles and investor anxiety just as its balance sheet is under unprecedented strain.
Now, RioZim has placed its hopes in Dengu’s ability to steer RioZim through the storm.
“The board of directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Caleb Dengu, as the chairman of board of directors of the company with effect from July 8, 2025,” RioZim said.
“Caleb Dengu is an accomplished business leader and investment strategist with over four decades of experience in international development finance, public sector reform, and private sector investment across Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Caribbean.”
Dengu, who has led large-scale energy and infrastructure deals including the ambitious 500 MW Kariba Floating Solar Farm, currently serves as Managing Partner at CDF Trust & Consulting BV, Managing Director of Green Hybrid Power, and Director of Intensive Energy User Solutions.
“He has a proven track record in structuring large-scale infrastructure and energy deals, including spearheading projects such as the 500 MW Kariba Floating Solar Farm. He was appointed as a director on November 6, 2014,” RioZim added.
“With a solid foundation in financial management and public enterprise reform, Caleb has led complex multi-country projects for institutions such as the Common Fund for Commodities and the Trade and Development Bank.”
The leadership shake-up coincides with a bitter legal battle over RioZim’s proposed survival strategy. On August 5, the High Court barred the company from selling mining and non-core assets, following an urgent application by the Zimbabwe Diamond & Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU) and two other parties.
The provisional order effectively blocked RioZim’s attempt to raise capital through asset disposals, funds the miner insists were critical to paying wage arrears, settling creditors, and restarting idled operations.
The miner described the blocked disposals as a missed lifeline.
With the court freeze in place, RioZim has suspended all pending transactions while it prepares its appeal.
The developments leave RioZim facing a stark test of survival. Once one of Zimbabwe’s most recognisable mining houses, the group now finds itself locked in a high-stakes contest to restore credibility, raise capital, and stave off collapse.
