By A Correspondent
Former National Patriotic Front (NPF) spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire has launched a scathing attack on controversial businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei, labelling him “a conman, not a businessman,” and accusing him of orchestrating large-scale corruption and looting through his ties with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and government programmes.
Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Mawarire alleged that Tagwirei manipulated financial systems for personal enrichment at the expense of ordinary Zimbabweans.
“Tagwirei is not a businessman. He is just a well-connected conman,” wrote Mawarire.
He claimed that in February 2019, during the introduction of the RTGS dollar under Statutory Instrument 33 — which pegged the new currency at 1:1 with the U.S. dollar — Tagwirei exploited the transition for massive profit. According to Mawarire, Tagwirei, through his associate Chris Fourie, negotiated with the RBZ to convert $15 million in treasury bills at an inflated rate of 1:5.5, effectively securing over $75 million.
“Instead of getting $15m, Tagwirei and company were paid more than $75m, making a $60m killing overnight,” he stated.
Mawarire further alleged that between 2017 and 2019, Tagwirei’s company, Sakunda Holdings, and its affiliates received over US$3 billion in Treasury Bills, most of which were allegedly issued outside of the approved national budget.
He cited a 2019 parliamentary inquiry that revealed a lack of transparency and accountability in the disbursement of these funds, accusing the RBZ of effectively printing money for Tagwirei and worsening Zimbabwe’s inflation crisis.
Mawarire also criticised Sakunda’s involvement in the Command Agriculture programme, claiming that while Parliament confirmed the company received US$1.28 billion, only US$1 billion was accounted for as input expenditure.
“The remaining US$280 million could not be traced,” said Mawarire. “The Auditor General described the programme as opaque and riddled with financial irregularities.”
He also took issue with Tagwirei’s more recent role in the Land Tenure Implementation Committee, accusing him of using the platform to enrich himself further by allegedly selling fraudulent title deeds to unsuspecting land reform beneficiaries.
“The guy sold the country a dummy and used sanction-busting as an excuse to loot our resources through his government and RBZ connections… This guy has to be stopped,” Mawarire declared.