DEVELOPING: Tagwirei gets top Zanu PF economic post as Mpofu moves to elders

Key points

Kudakwashe Tagwirei has been appointed Zanu PF Secretary for Economic Affairs and Investment Promotion, days after becoming a minister.

Obert Mpofu has moved to the party's Council of Elders, and Mayor Wadyajena has joined the Central Committee.

The party says the appointments take immediate effect. It has given no reason for the changes.

The US Treasury has sanctioned Tagwirei, accusing him of supporting corruption.

Businessman and senator Kudakwashe Tagwirei has been appointed Zanu PF's Secretary for Economic Affairs and Investment Promotion, a newly re-designated position, days after he was sworn in as Minister of Economic Development and Investment Promotion.

What we know

The appointment was announced on Thursday, 15 October 2026, in a statement from Zanu PF's Information and Publicity Department signed by party spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa, iHarare reports. The statement says: "Senator Dr. Kudakwashe Tagwirei has been appointed to the new re-designated position of Secretary for Economic Affairs and Investment Promotion."

The statement, dated 15 October, says President Emmerson Mnangagwa made the appointments as party First Secretary, through Secretary-General Jacob Mudenda. They take effect immediately. They were made under Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the party constitution, which cover appointments to the Central Committee, the Council of Elders and the Politburo.

ZimLive and Nick Mangwana both said on X that the appointment puts Tagwirei in the party's Politburo.

Obert Moses Mpofu, the party's former Secretary for Science and Technology, has been appointed to the Council of Elders. ZimLive and Mangwana said this takes him out of the Politburo.

Mayor Wadyajena has been appointed a member of the Central Committee.

The changes come as Zanu PF holds its 23rd National People's Conference at Chinhoyi University of Technology, which runs until Saturday, 17 October.

What we don't know yet

Who held the party's economic affairs portfolio before it was re-designated, and what the new role covers.

Whether further appointments or redeployments will be announced during the conference.

Why the changes were made. The party statement, as published so far, gives no reasons.

Updates

20:25 BST, Thursday 15 OctoberLatest

The appointment has drawn international coverage. Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the ruling party had given Tagwirei, "a wealthy businessman sanctioned for alleged corruption by the US", a key economic role days after he became a cabinet minister. The US Treasury placed sanctions on Tagwirei in March 2024 under its Global Magnitsky programme, accusing him of supporting corruption. He had first been sanctioned in August 2020 under an earlier US sanctions programme on Zimbabwe, which the US ended in March 2024. NewZimbabwe has also published the party statement, which lists the moves as "appointments and redeployments" made under Articles 7, 8 and 9 of the party constitution. The party has still given no reason for the changes, and we have not seen a public response from Tagwirei.

16:25 BST, Thursday 15 October

More of the party's statement has now been published. Zimbabwe Now reports that it is titled "Assignment and Re-assignment of Party Cadres to the Central Committee, Council of Elders and Politburo" and is dated 15 October. In it, spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa says the appointments were made by "Party First Secretary, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, through the Secretary-General, Cde. Advocate Jacob F. N. Mudenda, and in accordance with the Constitution of the Party". The appointments take immediate effect. 263Chat, which also reported the statement, quotes it as saying "Mayor Wadyajena has been appointed a Central Committee member." The Herald has also reported the changes. None of the reports gives a reason for the reshuffle or says who held the economic affairs brief before it was re-designated. The party's conference is scheduled to open in Chinhoyi on Friday, according to its published programme.

Join the conversation

Have your say in the comments below.

Share this story with someone who should see it.

Tell us

Spotted something we missed or got wrong, or know more about this story? Get in touch.

How we report: every fact is sourced and checked against the live source, the sources are listed above, and updates are timestamped.

Corrections: this story has not been corrected. See all corrections on our corrections page, and read our editorial policy.

Sir Wicknell: the gifts, the contracts and the questions Chivayo left

Wicknell Chivayo died in a helicopter crash on 30 September. He went from prison to Rolls-Royces, State Houses and a Provincial Hero's burial. Here is what is on the record, what the courts decided, and what is still only alleged.

By Zimbo Grapevine News Desk22 Oct 2026

The New Parliament Building, a large curved stone building on a hilltop near Harare, under a clear blue sky.

PoliticsNews report: sourced and attributed

Mnangagwa takes over COMESA chair from Ruto at Harare summit

Kenya's William Ruto handed the COMESA chairmanship to President Mnangagwa at the bloc's 25th summit in Harare, with Zambia's Hakainde Hichilema as vice-chair.

By Zimbo Grapevine News Desk22 Oct 2026

A multi-storey brick office block with green-trimmed balconies in central Harare, with a Zimbabwean flag on the roof.

BusinessNews report: sourced and attributed

Foreign firms in reserved sectors told to comply or lose licences

After inspecting more than 3,000 companies, government says it will suspend or revoke the licences of foreign-owned firms trading in the 17 sectors reserved for Zimbabweans.

By Zimbo Grapevine News Desk22 Oct 2026

Tagwirei gets top Zanu PF economic post as Mpofu moves to elders

Key points

What we know

What we don't know yet

Updates

Join the conversation

Comments

More from Politics & Current Affairs

Sir Wicknell: the gifts, the contracts and the questions Chivayo left

Mnangagwa takes over COMESA chair from Ruto at Harare summit

Foreign firms in reserved sectors told to comply or lose licences