By A Correspondent-A major rift has emerged within ZANU-PF following the failed attempt by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s faction to impose controversial businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei into the party’s Central Committee — a move that has divided senior leadership at the party’s headquarters, commonly known as Shake-Shake Building.
Sources at the ZANU-PF headquarters revealed that the Politburo — the party’s supreme decision-making body — firmly rejected Tagwirei’s co-option into the Central Committee, delivering a significant political blow to both the fuel tycoon and his top political benefactor, President Mnangagwa.
The Central Committee is the second-highest authority in ZANU-PF’s hierarchy, subordinate only to the Politburo. However, insiders say Tagwirei’s nomination was met with resounding disapproval, with only two of the 49 Politburo members — Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and veteran member Omega Hungwe — backing his appointment.
Key figures including Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Secretary for Administration Obert Mpofu, legal affairs chief Patrick Chinamasa, and spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa led the opposition, signaling deepening fractures within the ruling party’s inner circle.
According to multiple sources, this near-unanimous rejection was not merely a procedural disagreement but a pointed rebuke of Mnangagwa’s alleged efforts to tighten his grip on the party through shadowy deals and wealthy allies. The pushback also represents growing discontent over what many in the party view as creeping corporate capture.
This dramatic fallout came just days after Vice President Chiwenga reportedly blocked a proposed donation of luxury vehicles by Tagwirei to Politburo members — widely seen as an attempted inducement ahead of the vote. The rejection of both the donation and the co-option has emboldened a faction within ZANU-PF that is increasingly critical of Mnangagwa’s leadership style and reliance on business proxies.
The tensions boiled over when Women’s League deputy chairperson and cabinet minister Monica Mutsvangwa — wife of senior Politburo member Chris Mutsvangwa — publicly criticized the influence of Tagwirei and the President’s unorthodox decision-making structures.
Speaking at a party meeting last week, she warned against “kitchen cabinet politics” and the corrupting power of wealth, pointedly stating:
“We will not accept things that are decided at someone’s home,”
— a direct reference to Mnangagwa’s Precabe Farm, widely seen as a parallel power centre circumventing formal party structures.
She added:
“Hatidi vanhu vanofunga kuti vanogona kushandisa mari ku divider vanhu… If money was what kept someone in power, Ian Smith would still be ruling today.”
Her remarks encapsulated what many within the party now describe as a growing revolt against the monetisation of loyalty and the erosion of democratic processes within ZANU-PF.
Further revelations show that Youth Minister Tino Machakaire lobbied heavily behind the scenes, urging fellow Politburo members to block Tagwirei’s elevation. At the same time, Fidelity Printers chair Godwills Masimirembwa reportedly told close associates that he had been pressured into supporting the bid by Obert Mpofu, whom he described as his “political godfather.”
Crucially, the failed co-option was not deferred or sent for review — it was flatly rejected, with some Politburo members vowing never to legitimise Tagwirei’s inclusion in the party leadership.
Analysts say the episode marks the most coordinated and direct resistance Mnangagwa has faced from within ZANU-PF since taking power in 2017. Tagwirei, long regarded as the financial engine of Mnangagwa’s political machinery, now finds himself politically isolated.
More significantly, the pushback has cast doubt on Mnangagwa’s long-rumoured ambitions to extend his rule beyond 2028.
“This was a vote of no confidence in the use of money and shadow networks to run the party,” said one senior Politburo member. “The blackout on Tagwirei is the loudest rejection Mnangagwa has received since the coup.”
With ZANU-PF’s institutional structures now reasserting themselves, observers believe the battle for post-2028 leadership has begun — and that Mnangagwa and his proxies may no longer be in control of the outcome.
Developing…