<p>Social work is accused of being complicit in state injustices. This study investigated factors shaping the application of political social work in Zimbabwe. This exploratory inquiry sought to understand what political social work looks like to social workers in different fields of practice in Zimbabwe. A sample of seven social workers was drawn from different practice fields using snowball. This was crucial given the sensitivity of the topic among practitioners and public authorities in Zimbabwe. Participants were interviewed using an interview guide and data were analysed as it were collected as dictated by data saturation. Results show that political social work is on the verge of disappearing from Zimbabwean practice due to personal and institutional security threats, lack of curriculum content on political social work, and a state that is intolerant to its critics. Consequently, political social work is openly practiced by few social workers in human rights Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Those in government and mainstream NGOs apply political social work in conjunction with other approaches as an indirect response to injustices. Practitioners believed that political social work would help develop social democratic policies and entrench sustainable development if these factors were addressed. The findings demand that the Council of Social Workers of Zimbabwe, National Association of Social Workers of Zimbabwe and various schools of social work in Zimbabwe improve curriculum content on political social work and collaboratively lobby the government for recognition of political social work as a legitimate approach and field of practice.</p>