President Emmerson Mnangagwa has nominated businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei and nine others for appointment to the Senate, following constitutional changes that increased the size of the upper house from 80 to 90 members.
The announcement was made by Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda during Tuesday’s sitting of the National Assembly, following the enactment of the Constitutional Amendment Act No. 3.
Tagwirei, one of Zimbabwe’s most prominent and controversial businessmen, is the most high-profile of the ten. His appointment gives the businessman, who has maintained close links to the Mnangagwa administration, a formal position in Parliament for the first time.
The founder of Sakunda Holdings was sanctioned by the United States in 2020. The US Treasury accused him of using relationships with senior government officials to secure state contracts and preferential access to foreign currency. Tagwirei and the Zimbabwean government have rejected allegations of wrongdoing.
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His companies have also been at the centre of controversy over Zimbabwe’s Command Agriculture programme. A 2022 investigation by The Sentry alleged that companies linked to Tagwirei received about US$280m under the programme between 2016 and 2019, including payments it said may have been unlawful.
The other nominees are Jabulani Sibanda, Mary Mliswa, Goodwill Masimirembwa, Nokhuthula Matsikanyere, retired General Gibson Mashingaidze, Lucy Chitaga, Makhosini Hlongwane, Brilliant Dube and Irene Mutumbwa.
Sibanda is the Zanu-PF provincial chairman for Bulawayo and a former leader of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association. He has been a prominent figure in the ruling party’s structures in the province and has publicly backed Mnangagwa’s leadership beyond 2028.
Hlongwane is a former government minister who served as Minister of Sport and Recreation under the late President Robert Mugabe. He was appointed to the sports portfolio in 2015 and remained in Cabinet through Mugabe’s final years in office.
The appointments follow changes introduced through Constitutional Amendment No. 3, which altered the composition of the Senate by creating 10 additional presidentially appointed seats.
The amendment was passed by Parliament earlier this year after a contentious process. The National Assembly initially approved the Bill by 216 votes to 42, before amendments agreed by the Senate were subsequently adopted by the lower house.
Among the changes introduced by the amendment is an increase in the number of senators appointed by the President. Parliament had sought to retain a role in the appointment process during debate on the Bill.
The amendment also extended the terms of the President and Parliament from five to seven years and changed the system for choosing the president, replacing direct election with a parliamentary vote. President Mnangagwa subsequently signed the legislation into law.
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