WHY WAS MUGUTI FIRED AS LOCAL GOVT PERMANENT SECRETARY
MUGUTI’S BIG-MOUTH BLUES: The bans, blunders and bruising encounters that defined his reign
Tafadzwa Muguti arrived at Local Government with big announcements, tough talk and an apparent appetite for confrontation. Barely two months into his latest assignment as Permanent Secretary, he is already out.
What a short ride.
His tenure was marked by controversial directives, public confrontations and repeated questions about the limits of his administrative authority. Muguti appeared to have a ban, a warning or a threat for almost everyone.
But governing a ministry is rather different from running a personal enforcement campaign.
“MUTOREI MUYENDE NAYE”: THE DISABLED VENDOR
Perhaps the most uncomfortable episode came during Operation Chenesa Harare, when Muguti confronted a disabled vendor in the CBD.
In footage of the incident, he is heard ordering council police: “Mutorei muyende naye” (Take him away with you).
The vendor was subsequently bundled into a council truck, triggering public outrage over the treatment of a vulnerable man trying to earn a living.
Nobody disputes that Harare needs order. But the sight of a senior government official directing the removal of a disabled vendor raised serious questions about dignity, proportionality and compassion.
A clean city and a humane city are not mutually exclusive. The job of government is to restore order without stripping people of their dignity.
THE TINTED-WINDOW BAN THAT COLLAPSED
In September 2025, Muguti announced a blanket prohibition on tinted vehicle windows, warning motorists to remove the tint or face enforcement.
The announcement barely survived the political traffic.
Presidential spokesperson George Charamba publicly disowned it, saying it had no basis in law. Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi subsequently clarified that no such prohibition existed and that legislation would be required.
A sweeping ban had been announced before the legal groundwork was in place.
Apparently, announcing a prohibition and having the authority to enforce one are two different things.
KEEP THE CAMERAS OUT?
Muguti also courted controversy over traditional courts, calling for restrictions on mobile phones and the recording of proceedings.
His argument centred on protecting confidentiality, but questions arose over transparency and accountability in institutions exercising public functions.
He also attracted criticism over remarks concerning ancestral villages and where people could settle, touching a sensitive issue in a country where people move for work, marriage and family.
A HISTORY OF CONTROVERSY
This was not his first encounter with controversy.
In 2021, as Harare Provincial Development Coordinator, Muguti faced a High Court challenge after directing NGOs to submit operational information to his office and threatening action against those that failed to comply. The court subsequently restrained interference with their operations.
In 2022, he was named in contempt proceedings over alleged defiance of a court order relating to informal traders’ structures. The allegations were not a finding of guilt.
More recently, Local Government Minister Daniel Garwe publicly distanced the Government from demolitions under Operation Chenesa, saying authorities had stopped Harare City Council from implementing approximately 5,000 court-granted demolition orders.
The conflicting public messaging raised questions about coordination and accountability.
THE LESSONS
Muguti’s record offers uncomfortable lessons.
Authority is not personal power. A permanent secretary cannot turn an announcement into law.
Enforcement is not governance. Removing vendors and announcing bans may generate headlines, but citizens need workable solutions.
The poor deserve dignity. Informal traders are not disposable obstacles to urban order.
Respect the courts. Officials must obey the law as much as they expect citizens to obey it.
Public office demands restraint. A government title is not a licence for unilateral declarations.
THE FINAL WORD
Muguti has been replaced by Dr Addmore Pazvakavambwa following a presidential appointment announced by Chief Secretary Martin Rushwaya. His removal came barely two months after his latest appointment. No official reason has been given.
It would be premature to claim that his controversies caused his departure.
But his short tenure leaves behind serious questions about the relationship between administrative power, public accountability and the dignity of ordinary citizens.
Muguti was rarely short of announcements. Whether those announcements translated into better lives for Zimbabweans is another question entirely.
For a man who appeared to have a ban, a warning or a threat for almost everyone, there was one rule he could not legislate away: public office is temporary, and accountability never goes out of fashion.
