Chiwenga dossier accuses Tagwirei of looting US$1.9bn

Published: 3 hours ago

A confidential document authored by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and presented to the Zanu-PF politburo on September 17 has been leaked, exposing a dramatic internal confrontation over alleged corruption and the influence of powerful business figures close to President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

In the seven-page presentation, Chiwenga accused businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei of orchestrating what he described as the "brazen and systematic looting" of state resources and using the proceeds to capture key party and government structures. The vice president claimed that Tagwirei alone had siphoned more than US$1.9 billion from public funds through the Ministry of Finance under the guise of selling a 35 percent stake in Kuvimba Mining House to the government.

Chiwenga further alleged that Tagwirei had illegally taken control of state assets, including Sandawana Mine and the Zimbabwe Defence Forces' stake in Great Dyke Investments, incorporating them into his private business empire. He also accused Tagwirei of concealing Zanu-PF's purported 45 percent shareholding in Sakunda Holdings, held through Mvuto Investments (Pvt) Ltd, which Chiwenga said was part of the party's investment vehicle, the National Reconstruction Group, also known to own 40 percent of Kusena Diamonds.

The vice president claimed that the broader network of businessmen, which included Wicknell Chivhayo, Scott Sakupwanya, and Delish Nguwaya, had collectively stolen more than US$3.2 billion of government funds. According to the document, Chivhayo allegedly misappropriated US$45 million from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and over US$193 million through a bank, while Sakupwanya reportedly took over US$800 million through the "gold incentive scheme," now described as a tollgate fraud. Nguwaya, according to Chiwenga, benefited from US$222 million in inflated government contracts, including projects under the Ministry of Health.

Chiwenga further accused the group of funding the so-called "2030 Agenda," a campaign allegedly aimed at extending Mnangagwa's stay in power beyond constitutional limits, and of bribing party structures to secure support. "The time for silence and inaction is over," Chiwenga wrote in the document. "We cannot fold our hands while these criminals steal from our state coffers and use the same resources to corrupt our party and destroy our revolution." He also warned that the businessmen had turned the president's private office into a "parallel centre of government decision-making."

The leaked dossier is understood to have escalated tensions within Zanu-PF ahead of the party's annual conference in Mutare, though neither the presidency nor the individuals named have publicly responded to the allegations. Sources indicate that Mnangagwa has prepared a response to Chiwenga, which he intends to present at the politburo meeting preceding the annual conference, running from October 13 to 18.

Tagwirei, a politically connected tycoon with interests across Zimbabwe's fuel, mining, and agriculture sectors, has repeatedly denied accusations of corruption or undue influence, maintaining that his companies operate legally and transparently.

Chiwenga's explosive claims, now confirmed through the leaked document, represent one of the most direct challenges to Mnangagwa's authority in recent years, exposing deep fissures over corruption, party control, and succession planning within Zanu-PF.
- zimlive

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