Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s explosive leaked dossier has named gold dealer and Zanu PF legislator Scott Sakupwanya as a central figure in a massive looting network accused of draining over US$3.2 billion from Zimbabwe’s state coffers.
The 20-point classified document, presented to the Zanu PF politburo on September 17 and now circulating within senior political and security circles, paints a damning picture of deep-seated corruption, state capture, and political manipulation ahead of the ruling party’s Mutare conference.
In the dossier, Chiwenga accuses Sakupwanya of siphoning over US$800 million through what he terms the “gold incentive scheme, which has now become a tollgate fraud.”
“Scott Sakupwanya took more than US$800 million from government coffers through the so-called gold incentive scheme, which has now been made into a tollgate fraud,” Chiwenga wrote in his report to President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Gold Incentive Scheme “Hijacked” for Corruption
The gold incentive initiative was originally designed to reward miners for delivering gold to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ). However, according to the Vice President, it was transformed into a vehicle for massive state theft, allegedly benefitting politically connected dealers.
Chiwenga warns that Sakupwanya and his allies are not merely enriching themselves — they are funding political projects and buying influence inside Zanu PF using proceeds from looted state programs.
“These criminals are not just enriching themselves; they are using their stolen wealth to capture our Party, manipulate state institutions, and compromise key officials,” Chiwenga stated.
The document also links Sakupwanya to a broader cartel that includes Kudakwashe Tagwirei, Wicknell Chivhayo, and Delish Nguwaya — all accused of coordinating what Chiwenga calls a “parallel power structure” within both government and the ruling party.
A New November Moment?
In the seven-page dossier, Chiwenga draws chilling parallels between the corruption and authoritarian drift of the current administration and the excesses that led to the ouster of Robert Mugabe in November 2017.
“History is repeating itself in the most shameful way,” Chiwenga warns. “We risked everything in 2017 to end corruption, yet today the same evil has returned — funded by those looting from our people.”
He accuses those behind the so-called “2030 Agenda” — a campaign to extend Mnangagwa’s presidency beyond constitutional limits — of bankrolling it using stolen funds.
Sakupwanya, according to Chiwenga, is a major financier of that operation.
The Tollgate Fraud Allegation
The “gold tollgate fraud” reference, according to insiders familiar with the scheme, relates to massive leakages in gold export proceeds and payment incentives, where middlemen receive disproportionate foreign currency rewards while the RBZ and Treasury lose millions in unaccounted funds.
The dossier suggests that Sakupwanya used his access to state programs and political networks to channel funds through the RBZ’s gold scheme — transforming what was meant to empower small-scale miners into a multi-million-dollar extraction system.
Sources close to the politburo said Chiwenga’s tone was “furious and uncompromising,” demanding that Sakupwanya and others be arrested immediately for what he described as “unprecedented crimes against the state.”
“Tingarambe takatarisa vanhu vachiba more than US$3.2 billion in cash from our state coffers while our people are suffering?” Chiwenga wrote. “Hospitals are running out of medicines, yet these criminals use stolen money to hijack power and destroy our Party.”
Perhaps the most striking revelation is Chiwenga’s claim that the President’s private office has become a parallel centre of government decision-making, allegedly dominated by the same businessmen funding the 2030 campaign.
The Vice President accuses them of turning Zanu PF’s Affiliate Organisations into tools of influence — more powerful and better resourced than official party organs — further eroding internal democracy.
“We must reclaim our State and our Party from the capture by Kudakwashe Tagwirei, Wicknell Chivhayo, Scott Sakupwanya, and Delish Nguwaya,” the document reads.
As of publication, Scott Sakupwanya has not issued any statement addressing the allegations. Efforts by ZiMetro News to reach him or his representatives were unsuccessful.
Within Zanu PF, however, tensions are reportedly boiling. The dossier is said to have caused panic within the Mnangagwa camp, with loyalists scrambling to contain the fallout ahead of the annual conference.
Political analysts say Chiwenga’s document marks a turning point — potentially the most direct challenge to Mnangagwa’s inner circle since 2017.
Scott Sakupwanya’s inclusion in the Chiwenga dossier exposes more than just personal corruption; it signals the political monetisation of Zimbabwe’s gold sector and the transformation of state resources into instruments of loyalty and control.
As Chiwenga puts it: “The time for silence and inaction is over.”
Whether that statement heralds reform or retaliation remains to be seen — but one thing is clear: the battle for Zimbabwe’s gold has become a battle for the soul of its ruling party.