ZANU PF’s newly appointed Secretary for Legal Affairs, Ziyambi Ziyambi, has dismissed claims by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga that prominent businessmen are involved in “state capture” and have siphoned more than US$3.2 billion from government coffers.
In a 25-page document presented to the Politburo on Tuesday, 14 October, Ziyambi described Chiwenga’s allegations as “reckless,” “malicious,” and “defamatory.”
His remarks follow Chiwenga’s own presentation to President Emmerson Mnangagwa during a recent Politburo meeting, in which the Vice President launched a scathing attack on what he called “criminals who have stolen from our government coffers and our Party.”
Chiwenga named four businessmen, Kudakwashe Tagwirei, Wicknell Chivayo, Scott Sakupwanya, and Delish Nguwaya, accusing them of using illicit funds to “bribe fellow comrades and our structures to get their support, defend and protect them.”
He further alleged that the businessmen had “not just enriched themselves; they are using their stolen wealth to capture our Party, manipulate state institutions, and compromise key officials.” Said Chiwenga:
“Today, history is repeating itself in the most shameful way, Comrade President. Why we find ourselves in this situation is both shocking and shameful.
“Moreover, the drivers of this so-called 2030 Agenda have now made corruption, looting of our state coffers and bribery of our structures the cornerstone of their contribution to this campaign, and this is now destroying our Party and violating our Constitution.”
In response to Chiwenga, Ziyambi, who said he was tasked with reviewing the document and producing a summary grounded in constitutional law and party rules, accused the Vice President of “distorting the historical narrative for personal and political gain.” Said Ziyambi:
“This clearly is a narrative to discredit individuals who have been supporting the Party for a long time and are still doing the same.
“Zimbabwe is a constitutional democracy with well-established institutions to deal with such matters.
“Individuals have no legal mandate to go behind their perceived competitors, investigating their day-to-day activities with a view to satisfying their own personal ego.”
Ziyambi claimed that Tagwirei provided crucial support during the November 2017 military coup that brought Mnangagwa to power.
He said Tagwirei supplied a total of five million litres of fuel, food, and other provisions for soldiers, as requested by Chiwenga, who was then Commander of the Defence Forces. Ziyambi added that Tagwirei also contributed one million litres of fuel and US$1.6 million to the Party.
Ziyambi stressed that Operation Restore Legacy was achieved not by a few individuals but by Zimbabweans from all walks of life.
He also dismissed Chiwenga’s claims that Tagwirei, Chivayo, Sakupwanya, and Nguwaya had stolen more than US$1 billion.
Chiwenga had listed numerous alleged misappropriations, including the sale of a 35 percent stake in Kuvimba Mining House, theft of state assets such as Sandawana Mines and the Zimbabwe Defence Forces’ Great Dyke Investments, concealment of the Party’s 45 percent share in Sakunda Holdings, Chivayo’s alleged misappropriation of US$45 million from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and US$193 million from a bank, Sakupwanya’s supposed theft of over US$800 million through a “gold incentive” scheme, and Nguwaya’s US$162 million contract with Geo Pomona and US$60 million via Clean Planet Resources.
However, Ziyambi described these allegations as “a narrative to discredit individuals who have been supporting the Party for a long time.”
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