Shock Twist: Zimbabwe Envoy Uebert Angel Named in Al Jazeera Bombshell Exposing Harare’s Links to UK Fake Rally and Paramilitary Hitmen-for-Hire
LONDON — Uebert Angel, Zimbabwe’s Special Presidential Envoy and Ambassador-at-Large to Europe and the Americas under President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has been referenced in an Al Jazeera investigation that exposes how a British right-wing activist allegedly organised a staged political rally on behalf of the Zimbabwean government while facilitating access to a paramilitary figure offering contract killings.
The documentary, Contract Killers and the Far Right, released this week by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit, details how Jack Ross, chief executive of Turning Point UK (TPUK) and a former Conservative Party election candidate, paid thousands of pounds to Allan Nesbitt to stage a fraudulent rally in the UK.
The event was designed to manufacture public support for lifting international sanctions against Zimbabwe.
Angel, a Zimbabwean businessman and self-styled prophet previously central to Al Jazeera’s 2023 Gold Mafia investigation into gold smuggling and money laundering linked to Zimbabwean elites, is cited in connection with the country’s state lobbying and sanctions-related efforts.
Coverage of the new film notes his prominent role in such campaigns, though the documentary focuses primarily on the operational links between TPUK, British far-right networks, and loyalist paramilitaries acting as paid conduits.
According to the investigation, which began in 2021 when an undercover reporter infiltrated TPUK, Ross acted on behalf of the Zimbabwean government in arranging the fake rally.
In secretly recorded conversations, Ross referred to requests from “the Zims” who “want stuff done,” including interest in a “shooter,” and said he had directed them toward paramilitary contacts while seeking to keep his own name clear.
Ross introduced the undercover reporter to Nesbitt, a Glasgow-based convicted criminal with links to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a proscribed Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary group.
Nesbitt has prior convictions including for violent knife attacks.
Footage shows him offering to arrange execution-style killings for payment, discussing logistics such as methods and weapons, and stating that funds could support UVF arms purchases.
Ross described options ranging from beatings and facial cuttings to stabbings, shootings and murder, available “for a certain amount.”
Ross has denied the findings “completely,” insisting his remarks to the undercover reporter were not meant seriously.
Other individuals featured did not respond to Al Jazeera’s approaches. The UK Conservative Party has suspended Ross’s membership with immediate effect pending an internal investigation. Police Scotland said it would review the documentary for possible criminality.
TPUK is an independent offshoot of the US-based Turning Point USA and has been involved in anti-immigrant protests in Britain, with ties to figures in the Conservative Party and Reform UK.
The revelations have prompted discussion in Zimbabwe about the government’s international lobbying tactics.
No immediate official response from Harare or Angel to the specific allegations was available. The findings build on earlier scrutiny of Zimbabwe’s efforts to influence foreign policy and circumvent sanctions.
The full investigation is available on Al Jazeera’s platforms.