Harare, Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe’s Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has issued a stark warning over what he describes as an orchestrated attempt to ‘capture the state’, a direct response to the revelation of a secret dinner between two of the country’s most controversial businessmen – Wicknell Chivayo and Kudakwashe Tagwirei – and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The meeting, which took place at a private farm outside Pretoria, has ignited a political firestorm in Harare and raised serious questions about cross-border influence, sovereignty, and the integrity of Zimbabwe’s fragile coalition government.
The Secret Dinner at a Private Farm
Ramaphosa’s office confirmed the dinner but characterized it as a ‘private social engagement’. ‘President Ramaphosa meets regularly with business leaders from across the continent to discuss investment opportunities,’ a spokesperson said in a statement. ‘No government decisions were made, and no commitments were given.’ However, critics point out that Ramaphosa’s presence – the first such meeting with Chivayo and Tagwirei on record – elevates the businessmen’s status and gives them a degree of political cover that they lack in Zimbabwe, where both face ongoing investigations and public scrutiny.
Chiwenga’s Warning: ‘State Capture’ Allegations
Chiwenga’s language – ‘state capture’ – is a loaded term in Southern African political discourse, most famously used to describe the looting of South African state institutions under former President Jacob Zuma. By invoking it, Chiwenga is directly accusing the dinner participants of attempting to replicate that dynamic in Zimbabwe. Political analysts in Harare say the Vice President’s outburst reflects deep tensions within the ruling ZANU-PF party between a faction loyal to Mnangagwa – who has long relied on Tagwirei and, to a lesser extent, Chivayo for campaign financing and business patronage – and a reformist wing led by Chiwenga that wants to distance the party from corrupt practices ahead of the 2028 elections.
‘Chiwenga is drawing a line in the sand,’ said Dr. Pedzisayi Ruhanya, a political analyst at the University of Zimbabwe. ‘He is signalling that the era of unchecked influence by a few businessmen is over. But the question is whether he has the institutional power to back that up, or whether this is a last-ditch protection of his own faction’s interests.’
The timing is critical. Zimbabwe is grappling with a deepening economic crisis – inflation above 50%, chronic fuel shortages, and a collapsing currency. The government has been unable to attract meaningful foreign direct investment, in part because of the very sanctions that target Tagwirei. A meeting between Ramaphosa, a respected continental statesman, and the sanctioned businessman threatens to undermine the African Union’s own anti-corruption frameworks and could reopen old wounds between Harare and Pretoria.
The Men at the Centre: Chivayo and Tagwirei
