OUTSPOKEN Zanu PF youths, who have gone on a naming and shaming campaign against what they claim to be corrupt individuals, have distanced President Emmerson Mnangagwa from alleged capture by the under-fire business executives.
At a press briefing in Harare on Monday, Zanu PF deputy youth secretary Lewis Matutu and political commissar Godfrey Tsenengamu fingered oil mogul Kudakwashe Tagwirei, ethanol producer Billy Rautenbach and miller Tafadzwa Musarara as godfathers of the cartels that have destroyed the country’s economy through underhand dealings with impunity.
Tagwirei is a known ally to Mnangagwa and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga.
The controversial businessman has pampered Vice President Chiwenga with some expensive gifts, among them vehicles, amid claims he enjoyed protection from the country’s highest office.
However, Zanu PF youth leaders still insist Mnangagwa’s hands were clean.
Matutu said no one had capacity to capture the President.
“Is the President (Mnangagwa) captured? Definitely not. I can confidently say he is not captured,” Matutu said.
“No one has the capacity to capture him right now, unless if you are saying he is the one who has captured someone.
“Tagwirei and the other people that are leading the cartels in the country has no capacity to capture our President.”
He added, “But we know for a fact that he is not captured. If these cartel leaders have been using President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s name to do their underhand dealings, now that we have named you as the ring leaders, let’s wait and hear what he is going to say.”
President Emmerson Mnangagwa pictured with controversial businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei
Tagwirei has vast interest in fuel, agriculture, gold, banking and pharmaceuticals.
He has been accused of monopolising the sectors to his own advantage, amassing massive wealth at the expense of ordinary citizens.
The same has been said for Rautenbach who has been accused of holding the country to ransom as he forces mandatory fuel blending with ethanol.
The named businessmen were also said to have runners on the streets who were buying foreign currency, propelling exchange rates in the process.
