MUTARE – Zanu-PF has delivered a major setback to presidential adviser Paul Tungwarara after the party’s national leadership nullified his attempted elevation to the Central Committee, ruling that the Manicaland provincial executive violated internal procedures and prematurely celebrated the move.
The reversal, confirmed in a 11 December 2025 letter from National Political Commissar Munyaradzi Machacha, immediately voided Tungwarara’s co-option, which had been approved by the Manicaland Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) during its 7 December meeting.
Senior party figures said the decision was necessary to uphold Zanu-PF’s rules, with Treasurer-General Patrick Chinamasa fully endorsing the nullification.
“I support the decision of Cde Machacha one hundred per cent,” Chinamasa said, arguing that the circumstances surrounding the attempted co-option were clear for all to see.
Buhera West legislator Tafadzwa Mugwadi posted a cover of the Zanu-PF Constitution on Facebook with a caption: “ZANU PF Constitution. Over to you Manicaland. Be literate.”
Machacha’s communication to provincial chair Tawanda Mukodza stated that the PCC had disregarded guidelines requiring that any replacement for a Central Committee vacancy must come from the same administrative district as the outgoing member.
The vacant seat previously belonged to Dorothy Mabika of Chipinge, while Tungwarara is not from the district.
Machacha also reiterated the party’s ban on inducements, warning that “issuance of money, goods or services” by aspiring candidates would amount to vote buying and result in disqualification.
Several PCC members had accused Tungwarara of distributing cash and food during the December 7 meeting.
Tungwarara, who has risen rapidly in Zanu-PF politics through his involvement in multiple presidential programmes, has never voted in a Zimbabwean election, according to senior party insiders familiar with his record.
His high-profile philanthropic activities and nationwide cash donations have unsettled some officials who say money is increasingly shaping internal political competition.
The Manicaland PCC has now been instructed to restart the nomination process, with national leadership stressing that any replacement must come from Chipinge in line with the party constitution.
The setback marks one of the most visible public embarrassments for Tungwarara, whose growing political ambitions have generated both support and discomfort within ruling-party structures.
The contest for a single Central Committee seat in Manicaland has also exposed deepening rivalries within an informal network of politically connected power brokers inside Zanu-PF.
The vacancy became a proxy battle between competing camps seeking to control provincial influence and to curb the sway of retired Lieutenant-General Anselem Sanyatwe.
Tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei allegedly backed Justice Matsatsira and deployed emissaries across the province in the days leading up to the vote. However, despite expectations that the outcome had already been secured, Matsatsira was defeated.
The meeting was instead won by Tungwarara, who reportedly relied on his own combination of cash, provincial fixers and quiet assurances of future rewards.
