By Victor Fanuel
Harare – Factional tensions in Zanu PF are taking a dramatic turn after nearly half of the 300 vehicles allegedly meant to be donated by controversial business tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei were mysteriously sabotaged.
According to sources within the ruling party, several diesel-powered Land Cruisers, GD6s, Fortuners, and Raptors parked at Zanu PF headquarters were tampered with as petrol was deliberately poured into their tanks.
The culprits remain unknown.
“None of us knows who did it. Everyone is shocked,” one insider revealed.
The sabotage comes days after a public humiliation suffered by Tagwirei last Thursday at the party’s central committee meeting.
Upon arriving at the Zanu PF HQ, Tagwirei was allegedly ordered out by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga.
“He froze, visibly stunned,” a witness recounted.
“Security was called, and he was escorted out.”
The incident was a clear signal of Chiwenga’s firm resistance to Tagwirei’s growing political influence.
Party sources say Chiwenga blocked the donation entirely, dealing a major blow to the tycoon’s factional standing.
Tagwirei’s troubles didn’t end there.
A letter dated July 3 from Zanu PF Secretary General Obert Mpofu reinforced formal procedures for donations, widely seen as a crackdown on shadow power networks that bypass official structures.
“The Zanu PF Party is embarking on an exercise to regularise the use and registration of motor vehicles donated in the name of the Party to either individuals or associations,” Mpofu wrote.
“This regularisation exercise includes motor vehicles donated directly by well-wishers to individual Party members, Party organs and structures without validation from the Secretary General, Treasurer General or National Secretary.”
Insiders say the sabotage has deepened suspicions within the party.
It remains unclear whether the act was carried out by Tagwirei’s frustrated backers reacting to his rejection, or by rivals within Zanu PF opposed to what they view as his attempts to buy political power.
“Tagwirei is being used as a pawn,” one insider said.
“He’s spending huge amounts, but it’s only making him more enemies.”
The sabotage episode has further exposed widening cracks within Zanu PF, where money, loyalty, and ambition are colliding.
Adding fuel to the fire, senior party member Monica Mutsvangwa recently delivered a stinging rebuke of those using wealth to manipulate internal politics.
Her remarks are widely perceived to be veiled attacks at Tagwirei.
“If money was what kept someone in power, Ian Smith would still be ruling today,” she said.
She condemned “kitchen cabinet politics,”clandestine power plays driven by elite wealth and secretive meetings.
“The party is not someone’s private property,” added Mutsvangwa.
Party insiders allege that Tagwirei’s political ambitions are being backed by powerful figures within Zanu PF’s Harare province, including chairperson Godwills Masimirembwa, deputy chairperson Ephraim Fundukwa, secretary for political commissariat Voyage Dambuza, and the deputy secretary for the commissariat Taurai Kandishaya.
“They’re holding his money purse,” an insider said.
“They’re fighting factional battles on his behalf, pushing his political project.”
Whether Tagwirei is a kingmaker or a political pawn, one thing is clear his money is stirring up dangerous undercurrents in Zanu PF.
