Mnangagwa rebukes Chiwenga for snubbing Zanu PF fundraiser

President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday publicly rebuked his deputy, Constantino Chiwenga, and other Zanu PF politburo members for missing a fundraising dinner organised by the party last Saturday.

Chiwenga, Engelbert Rugeje and Obert Mpofu were among those who did not attend the Presidential Fundraising Ball, held at the Harare Hippodrome, owned by televangelist Uebert Angel. The event raised $9.4 million, organisers claimed.

Mnangagwa used an open session at the start of a politburo meeting that kicked off Zanu PF’s annual conference to call out the absentees, singling out members of the party’s highest decision-making body between congresses.

“I sincerely thank the conference organising committee and the resource mobilisation subcommittee for organising a hugely successful Presidential Fundraising Dinner Ball. Congratulations,” he said.

“Some of you came, some of you did not come, but you’re members of the politburo. You hear me?”

Chiwenga also skipped Monday’s swearing-in of petroleum and tender tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei as a minister at State House, in a further sign of the widening rift between the two men.

The vice president has not publicly explained his absence from the fundraising event. Some observers have speculated that he wanted to avoid sharing a platform with some of Mnangagwa’s wealthy associates, including Tagwirei and gold dealer Scott Sakupwanya.

Chiwenga has previously used the term “zvigananda” to describe the two men and other wealthy friends of the president he accuses of exploiting their proximity to power. The Shona word refers to a blood-engorged tick, evoking an insatiable appetite for milking the state.

Chiwenga led the 2017 military intervention that ousted longtime president Robert Mugabe and paved the way for Mnangagwa to take power. The two men have since fallen out amid a succession battle, with Mnangagwa pushing to extend his stay in office beyond his constitutionally prescribed second and final term.

Mnangagwa has backed proposals to extend presidential terms from five to seven years, potentially allowing him to remain in office until 2030. Zanu PF is also pursuing constitutional changes that would postpone its next elective congress, scheduled for next year, to 2030.

The president’s public rebuke comes as the party gathers for its annual conference in Chinhoyi, and the succession question is expected to loom large. *_-ZimLive_*