Ziyambi Ziyambi, Zanu PF’s legal affairs secretary, has rejected claims by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga that prominent businessmen are engaged in “state capture” and have siphoned over US$3.2 billion from government coffers.
Describing the allegations as “reckless,” “malicious” and “defamatory,” Ziyambi systematically rebuffed the accusations outlined in an explosive internal party document that exposes growing tensions within Zimbabwe’s ruling party.
This comes after Chiwenga presented a document directly to President Emmerson Mnangagwa during one of their recent politburo meetings, launching a blistering attack on “criminals who have stolen from our Government coffers and our Party.”
Chiwenga singled out four names – Kudakwashe Tagwirei, Wicknell Chivhayo, Scott Sakupwanya and Delish Nguwaya, accusing them of using illicit proceeds to “bribe fellow comrades and our structures to get their support, defend and protect them.”
He contended that they had “not just enriched themselves; they are using their stolen wealth to capture our Party, manipulate state institutions, and compromise key officials.”
“We surely cannot fold our hands and watch these criminals like Kudakwashe Tagwirei, Wicknell Chivhayo, Scott Sakupwanya, and Delish Nguwaya, amongst others, corrupt and bribe our structures and in the process destroy our Party,” Chiwenga said.
In his presentation to Mnganagwa, Chiwenga invoked the 2017 military intervention, Operation Restore Legacy, claiming those who executed that operation had done so under a sacred mandate yet now face a fresh wave of internal subversion from the very structures that once supported them.
“Today, history is repeating itself in the most shameful way, Comrade President. Why we find ourselves in this situation is both shocking and shameful. Moreover, the drivers of this so-called 2030 Agenda have now made corruption, looting of our state coffers and bribery of our structures the cornerstone of their contribution to this campaign, and this is now destroying our Party and violating our Constitution,” Chiwenga said, accusing these same individuals of co-opting the presidency itself, inserting themselves into decision making in the President’s private office.
However, in a wordy response seen by CITE, Ziyambi who said was mandated to assess the document and produce a summary response grounded in constitutional law and party rules, dismantled Chiwenga’s claims, defending the four businessmen while accusing the Vice President of “distorting historical narrative for personal and political gain.”
READ THE FULL DOCUMENT HERE: https://cite.org.zw/ziyambi-responds-to-chiwenga-read-the-full-document/
“This clearly is a narrative to discredit individuals who have been supporting the Party for a long time and are still doing the same,” Ziyambi responded.
“Zimbabwe is a constitutional democracy with well-established institutions to deal with such matters. Individuals have no legal mandate to go behind their perceived competitors, investigating their day-to-day activities with a view to satisfying their own personal ego.”
In a stunning revelation, Ziyambi exposed that Tagwirei had provided crucial support during the November 2017 military operation that brought Mnangagwa to power.
Ziyambi said the “Operation Restore Legacy” had significant backing as “for the record Mr Kudakwashe Tagwirei put in a total of five million litres of fuel, food and other provisions for soldiers as requested by the then CDF, General Chivenga,” he said.
“Furthermore, he put in one million litres of fuel and 1.6 million USD to the Party.”
This directly countered Chiwenga’s assertion that “we risked everything – our lives, our freedom, our futures – to restore and defend our legacy.”
Ziyambi said it can be denied that only a few individuals, particularly Chiwenga, “sacrificed their lives for the attainment of Operation Restore Legacy,” claiming “Zimbabweans from all walks of life rose and participated in and supported.”
“There is no denying that Operation Restore Legacy had significant backing. A considerable amount of resources was invested to guarantee its success. It is unlikely that an operation of this scale could have achieved its goals without substantial financial support,” Ziyambi said.
Chiwenga enumerated a litany of alleged misappropriations citing how US$1.9 billion was stolen via the sale of a 35 percent stake of Kuvimba Mining House, theft of state assets such as Sandawana Mines, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces’ Great Dyke Investments, Concealment of the Party’s 45 percent share in Sakunda Holdings, Chivhayo’s US$45 million from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and US$193 million from a bank, Sakupwanya’s alleged theft of over US$800 million via a “gold incentive” scheme, Nguwaya’s US$162 million contract with Geo Pomona and US$60 million via Clean Planet Resources.
However, Ziyambi labeled the allegations “a narrative to discredit individuals who have been supporting the Party for a long time.”
“Zimbabwe is a constitutional democracy with well-established institutions to deal with such matters. Individuals have no legal mandate to go behind their perceived competitors … Whilst I do not have the mandate to investigate these allegations, I have nevertheless taken it upon myself to establish the basis upon which they were made. … I have several documents that disprove these allegations … I shall therefore respond as follows:”
On the US$1.9 billion allegation (Kuvimba stake), Ziyambi said: “The allegation that US$1.9 billion was stolen … is wholly misleading. … What is required here is credible evidence, not conjecture or speculation.”
On Sandawana Mines, Great Dyke Investments, and Sakunda, Ziyambi said: “These transactions were executed with full Cabinet approval … they fully adhered to all legal and procedural requirements … I am in possession of the Cabinet Authority, which authorises these sales marked Annexure II and III. … ZANU(PF) does not own any shares in Sakunda Holdings … To label them as theft is a gross distortion …”
On the US$193 million bank claim, Ziyambi said: “Allegations pertaining to theft of 193 million from Government through a bank are absurd … unless the writer is alleging there was a break-in, robbery or fraud, in which case the bank ought to have made a report to the police.”
On the gold incentive scheme (Sakupwanya), Ziyambi said: “Government approved the payment of gold incentives … The scheme … is introduced to curb gold smuggling and to encourage formal deliveries … How then is such a programme a ‘toll gate’ …? The only people stealing are those who were benefiting from the porous systems before the incentive scheme.”
On Nguwaya’s contracts, Ziyambi said: “There are several Cabinet authorities authorising this contract … due process was followed, and the individual in question was acquitted … All the contracts concluded were strictly in compliance with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets (Chapter 22:23). At no time did ZEC enter into a contract with Chivhayo or any company associated with him. It is thus grossly misleading to allege any stealing of ZEC funds by the said individuals.”
Ziyambi said party members “must not be self-destructive. … Any attempt to do so undermines not only our Party but also the will of the people we serve.”
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