Chinamasa Comes to Tagwirei’s Defence, Blasts Muts...

Chinamasa Comes to Tagwirei’s Defence, Blasts Mutsvangwa Over Cooption Controversy

Oscar J Jeke

Zim Now Reporter

ZANU-PF Secretary for Legal Affairs Patrick Chinamasa has broken his silence over the storm surrounding businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei’s cooption into the party’s Central Committee, dismissing criticism from party Secretary for Information, Christopher Mutsvangwa as baseless and politically motivated.

In a statement on his X account, Chinamasa described the backlash over Tagwirei’s elevation, led by Mutsvangwa as “a much ado about nothing” stoked by misinformation and internal rivalries. He firmly defended the legality and procedural correctness of the Harare Provincial Coordinating Committee’s decision to recommend Tagwirei, which was subsequently endorsed by the Politburo and now awaits formal adoption by the Central Committee.

“The ZANU-PF Department of Legal Affairs is relieved and takes note that the furore... that surrounded Harare PCC’s cooption of Cde Kudakwashe Tagwirei... is now over and irreversibly settled,” Chinamasa said. “From the outset, it was difficult to understand the source of the problem.”

He laid out a detailed timeline showing that the recommendation was properly submitted to party Secretary General Dr. Obert Mpofu and presented by National Political Commissar Munyaradzi Machacha at the 384th Ordinary Session of the Politburo on July 2, 2025. According to Chinamasa, the process was unanimously approved and confirmed again at the 385th Politburo meeting chaired by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga on July 30.

“There was no objection in the Politburo meeting to the recommendation by Harare PCC,” Chinamasa emphasized, citing official minutes that recorded Tagwirei as “now a Central Committee Member.”

The remarks appear aimed directly at Mutsvangwa, who days earlier launched a scathing attack accusing Harare province of being compromised in its support for Tagwirei. Mutsvangwa insinuated that financial inducements were used to secure the cooption and questioned Tagwirei’s loyalty and history of service within the party.

“You don’t try to use the same money against this party or its population,” Mutsvangwa charged at a press conference, framing the businessman’s entry into formal politics as a dangerous “boomerang” of wealth and elite privilege back into ZANU-PF’s inner sanctum.

While not naming Mutsvangwa directly, Chinamasa clearly dismissed the accusations as unfounded and politically opportunistic. “The somewhat negative publicity and narrative surrounding his cooption... is undeserved,” he said. “The only explanation why [this] has attracted such controversy may be because there are people... who, for reasons best known to themselves, have an axe to grind.”

Chinamasa, who has served continuously on the Central Committee since 1987 and on the Politburo since 2000, said Tagwirei’s case was the first in nearly four decades to face such resistance. “We always treated such recommendations as fait accompli... never discussed, let alone debated.”

Tagwirei was co-opted alongside Polite Kambamura, Christine Gwati, Joseph Serima, and Collen Ndebele, recommendations that were all approved by the Politburo and now await tabling before the full Central Committee.

Meanwhile, former MP Temba Mliswa leapt to Tagwirei’s defence, accusing Mutsvangwa of hijacking the issue to further his own political ambitions. “The likes of Mutsvangwa... should be careful of overreaching in their celebratory antics,” Mliswa said. “The President retains enough power and influence to make decisive decisions in some of these issues.”