Zim GBC News | Political Correspondent
HARARE – Shocking details have emerged from a confidential document in which Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga accuses a group of prominent business moguls of siphoning over US$3.2 billion from state coffers and alleges that the ruling Zanu PF party owns a 45% stake in Kudakwashe Tagwirei’s Sakunda Holdings.
The damning allegations are contained in a secret report presented to President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the party’s politburo on September 17.
In the document, Chiwenga singles out multi-millionaire tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei, Wicknell Chivayo, and Pedzisayi ‘Scott’ Sakupwanya, among others, labeling them as “criminals” who have engaged in a “brazen and systematic campaign of stealing from our government.”
He claims the funds were looted through various payments, including US$1.9 billion, US$800 million, US$238 million, and US$222 million.
“Comrade President, these criminals and their associates have been engaged in a brazen and systematic campaign of stealing from our government and to date, they have stolen more than US$3.2 billion of government funds,” Chiwenga states in the document.
The VP questions the inaction in the face of such alleged grand corruption, stating, “Tingarambe takatarisa vanhu vachiba more than US$3.2 billion in cash from our state coffers while our people are suffering out there?”
He further lamented the impact on public services, citing shortages of mealie-meal and critical medicines in hospitals.
Zanu PF’s Secret Shareholding Revealed
In a stunning revelation, Chiwenga claims that 45% of Sakunda Holdings rightfully belongs to Zanu PF, held through a party investment vehicle called Mvuto Investments (Private) Limited, which is controlled by the National Reconstruction Group.
This group was previously used to conceal a secret Zanu PF stake in Kusena Diamonds during the Chiadzwa diamond rush.
Chiwenga accuses Tagwirei of “stealing” and “concealing” this shareholding, lamenting that the party was not receiving any dividends or profits from its investment, but only donations from Tagwirei.
“These criminals are not just enriching themselves; they are using their stolen wealth to capture our party, manipulate state institutions, and compromise key officials,” Chiwenga warns. “They are creating a parallel power structure funded by the very state they are destroying. This cannot be tolerated for a single day longer.”
Sakunda’s Rise and Restructuring
The public narrative has long held that Tagwirei is the founder and sole owner of Sakunda, which he started in 2001 with an initial capital of US$7,500, famously claiming he sold his house to buy two fuel tankers.
The company grew into a conglomerate, dominating Zimbabwe’s fuel sector, especially after a 2011 alliance with Swiss giant Trafigura gave it preferential access to the Beira oil pipeline.
Sakunda was later controversially removed from the fuel business, a move allegedly linked to the 2019 fuel shortages and protests.
Following the imposition of US sanctions on Tagwirei in 2020, he began a major restructuring of his empire. His vast mining interests were moved into Kuvimba Mining House, which was initially presented as majority state-owned.
Analysts suggest Tagwirei’s complex web of corporate structures, including the use of shell companies like Sotic International, is designed to obscure his continued involvement in business dealings.
Tagwirei, who remains on US and UK sanctions lists, rarely comments on media reports.
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