By Victor Fanuel
HARARE — Zanu PF’s politburo has approved the co-option of businessman Paul Tungwarara into the party’s central committee, ending months of internal delays that had threatened to deepen tensions in Manicaland Province.
The decision was taken at a politburo meeting held on Wednesday at the party’s headquarters, following prolonged disputes over the legality of Tungwarara’s nomination by provincial structures.
Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa confirmed the development after the meeting.
“I am glad to announce that Cde Tungwarara has now been accepted as the member of the central committee of Zanu PF.
“I want to congratulate him,” said Mutsvangwa.
Tungwarara’s endorsement by the Manicaland Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) had sparked controversy late last year after the party’s political commissar, Munyaradzi Machacha, nullified the recommendation.
Machacha cited procedural grounds, arguing that the co-option violated party statutes.
He maintained that any replacement to the central committee must originate from the same administrative district as the departing member.
The Manicaland PCC had recommended Tungwarara to fill the vacancy left by Dorothy Mabika, who stepped down from the Central Committee in 2025.
The nullification triggered resistance from provincial leaders, who argued that the PCC had acted within its constitutional mandate.
They insisted that the recommendation reflected the collective will of party structures in the province.
The dispute was formally escalated to the politburo, which is the party’s highest decision-making body outside Congress.
Mutsvangwa confirmed in December that the matter would be resolved at that level.
In announcing the outcome, Mutsvangwa praised the Manicaland leadership for its selection and drew parallels with other recent co-options.
“I would like to congratulate Manicaland Province for this selection which has found favour with the politburo in the same vein as the selection of Cde (Kudakwashe) Tagwirei by Harare Province and became a member of the Central Committee.
“This is an injection of new blood into the party, young business people who have fresh ideas about how to generate wealth for the country, how to run the economy.
“Their inclusion into Zanu PF leadership will ensure that we get fresh ideas as to how we can attune the party to the demands of a modern fourth industrial revolution country,” added Mutsvangwa.
The central committee is Zanu PF’s most influential organ between congresses.
Tungwarara’s elevation therefore carries significant political weight.
He is widely regarded as a close associate of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, and his co-option is seen as consolidating his growing influence within the party’s top structures.
The politburo’s decision brings to a close months of uncertainty that had exposed fault lines between national and provincial leadership over interpretation of party rules, while averting a potentially destabilising standoff in Manicaland ahead of future internal processes.
