Mutsvangwa slams 'overzealous' Tagwirei

Zanu-PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa has sharply criticised businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei for remarks urging the exclusion of foreign nationals from key economic sectors, describing the comments as "xenophobic" and warning they could inflame dangerous sentiments.

Tagwirei recently told a Zanu-PF gathering that foreigners should be removed from sectors such as transport, retail, and energy  -  a statement that immediately drew backlash within the ruling party.

Responding to the remarks, Mutsvangwa cautioned that such rhetoric risked fostering a movement similar to South Africa's anti-immigrant vigilante group, Operation Dudula.

"Zimbabwe was founded on the support of Africa, the Africa Liberation Committee, and one of the beneficiaries, as a young guerrilla, was the current President," Mutsvangwa said. "Africa matters to us as a country. So you do not go about saying we do not want foreigners in Zimbabwe. We do not want Dudula here. We are an African country. Africans are not foreigners in Zimbabwe."

He added that if any foreign nationals were violating local laws, due legal processes  -  not populist pronouncements  -  should address such issues.

Although the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act reserves certain sectors, including retail and employment agencies, exclusively for Zimbabweans, foreign nationals have continued operating in these spaces, sparking debate. But Mutsvangwa insisted that hostile attitudes were not the solution, pointing out that millions of Zimbabweans abroad themselves rely on tolerance from host nations.

"We are not xenophobic like South Africa," he said. "When you live in a glass house, do not throw stones. The third biggest foreign currency earner in this country is the diaspora. They are strangers in other lands."

Mutsvangwa's rebuke also hinted at growing tensions within Zanu-PF regarding Tagwirei's rising political profile. Although he recently backed Tagwirei's co-option into the Central Committee, Mutsvangwa has previously criticised him for allegedly buying influence.

In a veiled swipe, he suggested that Tagwirei should consider attending the ruling party's Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology.

"Certain things are only said by the President. They are not said by everybody; otherwise everyone who thinks can be a president can be seen giving policies from his platform," he said. "It may not be too late  -  particularly for people who want to be presidents  -  to go back to Chitepo School of Ideology."

Tagwirei has long been rumoured to harbour presidential ambitions once President Emmerson Mnangagwa's term ends in 2028, and Mutsvangwa's remarks appear to reflect intensifying intra-party rivalry.

The businessman has not responded to the criticism.