Local business mogul Kudakwashe Tagwirei’s controversial Central Committee co-option issue was not discussed in the ruling Zanu PF politburo meeting yesterday, party director for information and publicity Farai Marapira has told The NewsHawks.
“There was no specific discussion on the issue of co-option of some party members into the Central Committee, including his (Tagwirei) case. The party had other urgent matters to deal with. The chairperson presented a report on preparations for the upcoming annual conference and everything is on track. The issue of co-option of more than 10 members of the party into the Central Committee, including him (Tagwirei), will be dealt with in the next Central Committee meeting if it will be on the agenda. We don’t know yet what will be on the agenda of the next meeting, but it will be dealt when the time comes.”
There is confusion in Zanu PF over whether Tagwirei has been co-opted into the Central Committee or not.
Party spokesman Christopher Mutsvangwa says Tagwirei has not been admitted as he is ineligible, while legal affairs secretary Patrick Chinamasa claims he has been co-opted, and will be formally brought in at the next Central Committee meeting.
Tagwirei’s co-option saga has become controversial and a highly contested issue as it is intertwined with the ongoing succession battle within Zanu PF between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga underlying the 2030 agenda.
Mnangagwa has appointed a high-powered committee of presidium led by Chiwenga to deal with issue.
Last month, it met with leaders of the Zanu PF Harare provincial executive who are pushing for Tagwirei’s co-option amid resistance from Chiwenga’s faction to tackle the issue.
Despite the ongoing process, Chinamasa has come out to counter Mutsvangwa, backing Tagwirei who is fighting against powerful political bigwigs to get into Central Committee as a launchpad for his ambitions, which some say include presidential aspirations, something that he denies.
