News / National
Power struggle behind Tagwirei's expulsion
6 hrs ago | Views
Further revelations have surfaced surrounding the dramatic expulsion of business mogul Kudakwashe Tagwirei from a Zanu-PF Central Committee meeting in Harare last week, exposing a fierce behind-the-scenes power struggle between senior party officials Obert Mpofu and Patrick Chinamasa.
Highly-placed sources within the ruling party told The NewsHawks that the standoff over Tagwirei's controversial co-option into the Central Committee has been brewing for months, culminating in his humiliating ejection last Thursday - an outcome that signals deeper factional battles within Zanu-PF's upper echelons.
The saga reportedly began in March when Zanu-PF Harare Provincial chairperson Godwills Masimirembwa and his Provincial Coordinating Committee - an irregular structure for such nominations - attempted to push through Tagwirei's co-option. Despite residing in Harare's Borrowdale suburb, Tagwirei was being lined up to replace a Central Committee member from a different administrative district - a move deemed unconstitutional and procedurally flawed. Meanwhile, Zanu-PF's Masvingo Province also tried to claim Tagwirei, citing his Gutu roots, but insiders say the provinces were motivated more by his wealth and influence than political merit.
According to party insiders, the issue climbed through Zanu-PF structures to the Politburo, Central Committee, and National Consultative Assembly meetings last week. Internal circulars and counter-circulars exchanged between Mpofu, the party's powerful secretary-general, and Chinamasa, its legal affairs secretary, revealed the depths of the internal wrangling.
Mpofu, widely regarded as number five in Zanu-PF's hierarchy after President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Vice-Presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi, and party chair Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, first issued a directive on June 5 blocking Tagwirei's co-option. But on June 30, Chinamasa - a key ally of Mnangagwa and a supporter of Tagwirei - struck back, issuing his own directive to provincial structures, effectively overruling Mpofu.
This move was viewed as a direct challenge to Mpofu's authority and an extraordinary act of defiance within Zanu-PF's rigid hierarchy, where liberation struggle credentials and seniority weigh heavily.
Sources said Mpofu's opposition to Tagwirei stemmed partly from his alignment with Chiwenga in the ongoing succession struggle against Mnangagwa's so-called "2030 agenda" - a faction pushing for Mnangagwa to remain in power beyond the constitutional limits. Tagwirei, despite his denials, has been rumoured to harbour presidential ambitions, unsettling Chiwenga's camp.
With tensions escalating, Mpofu reissued his initial directive just ahead of last week's key meetings and enlisted Chiwenga's support to block Tagwirei's entry. Chiwenga, flexing his authority, moved decisively to expel Tagwirei from the Central Committee meeting, reversing what had appeared to be consensus approval in the Politburo just a day earlier.
Chiwenga instructed senior officials, including Mpofu, Chinamasa, national commissar Munyaradzi Machacha and security secretary Lovemore Matuke, to enforce Tagwirei's removal. Those close to the developments said Chiwenga's intervention before over 300 Central Committee members demonstrated his enduring influence in Zanu-PF's power matrix.
The fallout continued at Friday's National Consultative Assembly, where Mnangagwa, reportedly after a meeting with Chiwenga, denounced "zvigananda" - a thinly veiled attack on tenderpreneurs and business figures like Tagwirei who have become synonymous with state capture and influence-peddling. The remarks stunned many in the party and signalled a shift against the so-called "2030 brigade" which includes Tagwirei.
On Tuesday, Zanu-PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa sought to downplay the tensions, declaring Mnangagwa and Chiwenga "inseparable," in an apparent bid to calm growing speculation about a leadership rift.
As things stand, Tagwirei's controversial bid for a Central Committee seat has been derailed, with Chinamasa's efforts to salvage the process now overtaken by events. The broader implications for Zanu-PF's succession dynamics and the future of Mnangagwa's 2030 ambitions remain uncertain, but the episode has once again laid bare the bitter factional rivalries simmering beneath the surface of the ruling party.
Highly-placed sources within the ruling party told The NewsHawks that the standoff over Tagwirei's controversial co-option into the Central Committee has been brewing for months, culminating in his humiliating ejection last Thursday - an outcome that signals deeper factional battles within Zanu-PF's upper echelons.
The saga reportedly began in March when Zanu-PF Harare Provincial chairperson Godwills Masimirembwa and his Provincial Coordinating Committee - an irregular structure for such nominations - attempted to push through Tagwirei's co-option. Despite residing in Harare's Borrowdale suburb, Tagwirei was being lined up to replace a Central Committee member from a different administrative district - a move deemed unconstitutional and procedurally flawed. Meanwhile, Zanu-PF's Masvingo Province also tried to claim Tagwirei, citing his Gutu roots, but insiders say the provinces were motivated more by his wealth and influence than political merit.
According to party insiders, the issue climbed through Zanu-PF structures to the Politburo, Central Committee, and National Consultative Assembly meetings last week. Internal circulars and counter-circulars exchanged between Mpofu, the party's powerful secretary-general, and Chinamasa, its legal affairs secretary, revealed the depths of the internal wrangling.
Mpofu, widely regarded as number five in Zanu-PF's hierarchy after President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Vice-Presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi, and party chair Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, first issued a directive on June 5 blocking Tagwirei's co-option. But on June 30, Chinamasa - a key ally of Mnangagwa and a supporter of Tagwirei - struck back, issuing his own directive to provincial structures, effectively overruling Mpofu.
This move was viewed as a direct challenge to Mpofu's authority and an extraordinary act of defiance within Zanu-PF's rigid hierarchy, where liberation struggle credentials and seniority weigh heavily.
Sources said Mpofu's opposition to Tagwirei stemmed partly from his alignment with Chiwenga in the ongoing succession struggle against Mnangagwa's so-called "2030 agenda" - a faction pushing for Mnangagwa to remain in power beyond the constitutional limits. Tagwirei, despite his denials, has been rumoured to harbour presidential ambitions, unsettling Chiwenga's camp.
With tensions escalating, Mpofu reissued his initial directive just ahead of last week's key meetings and enlisted Chiwenga's support to block Tagwirei's entry. Chiwenga, flexing his authority, moved decisively to expel Tagwirei from the Central Committee meeting, reversing what had appeared to be consensus approval in the Politburo just a day earlier.
Chiwenga instructed senior officials, including Mpofu, Chinamasa, national commissar Munyaradzi Machacha and security secretary Lovemore Matuke, to enforce Tagwirei's removal. Those close to the developments said Chiwenga's intervention before over 300 Central Committee members demonstrated his enduring influence in Zanu-PF's power matrix.
The fallout continued at Friday's National Consultative Assembly, where Mnangagwa, reportedly after a meeting with Chiwenga, denounced "zvigananda" - a thinly veiled attack on tenderpreneurs and business figures like Tagwirei who have become synonymous with state capture and influence-peddling. The remarks stunned many in the party and signalled a shift against the so-called "2030 brigade" which includes Tagwirei.
On Tuesday, Zanu-PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa sought to downplay the tensions, declaring Mnangagwa and Chiwenga "inseparable," in an apparent bid to calm growing speculation about a leadership rift.
As things stand, Tagwirei's controversial bid for a Central Committee seat has been derailed, with Chinamasa's efforts to salvage the process now overtaken by events. The broader implications for Zanu-PF's succession dynamics and the future of Mnangagwa's 2030 ambitions remain uncertain, but the episode has once again laid bare the bitter factional rivalries simmering beneath the surface of the ruling party.
Source - online
