By Staff Reporter
Harare – Jealousy Mawarire, former spokesperson for the National Patriotic Front (NPF), has accused business mogul Kudakwashe Tagwirei of orchestrating systemic corruption through state institutions, including the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and key government programmes.
In a pointed exposé shared on X (formerly Twitter) Mawarire labeled Tagwirei “a well-connected conman,” accusing him of leveraging political connections to manipulate monetary policy, access public funds, and evade oversight.
“Tagwirei is not a businessman. He is just a well-connected conman,” he posted.
Central to the allegations is the 2019 currency reform, when the government introduced the RTGS dollar under Statutory Instrument 33.
While ordinary account holders were forced to convert USD savings at a 1:1 rate, Mawarire claims Tagwirei—through an associate, Chris Fourie—secured a 1:5.5 conversion for US$15 million in Treasury Bills, walking away with over US$75 million.
“Instead of getting $15m, Tagwirei and company were paid more than $75m, making a $60m killing overnight,” Mawarire wrote.
He further alleged that between 2017 and 2019, Tagwirei’s firm Sakunda Holdings and its affiliates received over US$3 billion in Treasury Bills—issued off-budget.
Mawarire cites a 2019 parliamentary probe which reportedly found large portions of these funds unaccounted for, accusing the RBZ of “printing money for Tagwirei” and triggering hyperinflation.
Mawarire also turned his focus to the controversial Command Agriculture scheme.
He claims Sakunda was paid US$1.28 billion under the programme, yet only US$1 billion was reportedly used for inputs.
The Auditor General has previously flagged the scheme as “opaque and riddled with financial irregularities.”
Adding to the list of accusations, Mawarire alleged that Tagwirei’s recent role in the Land Tenure Implementation Committee may be a new front for exploitation.
He accused the businessman of distributing fake title deeds to beneficiaries of the land reform programme.
Tagwirei has not responded to the allegations.
The RBZ and government officials are yet to issue public statements regarding the claims.
