By A Correspondent-President Emmerson Mnangagwa has summoned his ZANU PF Central Committee, a powerful body that includes current and former ministers, to his Precabe Farm in Sherwood, Kwekwe.
The meeting, initially advertised through a now-disowned poster as a “Presidential Star Rally,” was purportedly meant to be led by controversial businessman Kudakwashe Tagwireyi, a close Mnangagwa ally widely seen as the financier of both the ruling party and the president’s personal projects. The poster, which circulated online, was later dismissed as “fake” by ZANU PF’s Director of Information, Farai Marapira, who clarified that only Politburo and Central Committee members would be visiting the President’s farm “to drive and establish a manufacturing economy backed by the throughput of a vibrant farming and mining industry.”
However, critics say the event reveals a deepening culture of patronage and state capture, where party and government functions are increasingly being run from Mnangagwa’s private property, turning the farm into a shadow seat of power and a site of elite convergence.
The ZANU PF Central Committee, often described as a “parallel cabinet,” is the ruling party’s supreme decision-making body between congresses. It sets ideological and policy directives for government ministers, most of whom are also senior figures in the party. That Mnangagwa convened this body on his personal farm rather than at State House or party headquarters has raised eyebrows, with observers questioning the motives and optics of such a move.
“This is classic state-party conflation, where Mnangagwa is now using his private property to centralize control, project dominance, and cultivate loyalty through selective access,” said a Harare-based political analyst. “The fact that Tagwireyi was initially touted as leading the event shows how business and politics remain dangerously entangled under the so-called Second Republic.”
Tagwireyi, who has been repeatedly linked to opaque deals involving state fuel contracts, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, and command agriculture programs, is widely regarded as Mnangagwa’s “corruption manager”, a financier whose wealth and influence shield the president’s political ambitions. He was placed under U.S. and U.K. sanctions for his alleged role in enabling corruption and looting state resources.
The visit to Precabe Farm is only the latest in a series of events where Mnangagwa has transformed his private business empire into a symbol of power and influence. His farm, originally acquired during the controversial land reform program, has become a flagship of his public persona, complete with modern equipment, irrigation systems, and commercial partnerships that are out of reach for most ordinary farmers.
Critics argue that such displays of opulence and control are not just symbolic but part of a broader strategy to entrench Mnangagwa’s grip on power. By hosting key policy discussions and party meetings on private land, he consolidates authority while further eroding institutional accountability.
“What we’re witnessing is not just a meeting,” a former ZANU PF insider said. “It’s a ritual of power. Everyone who matters in ZANU PF has to pay homage at the farm. It’s Mnangagwa’s new State House.”