PRESIDENTIAL investment advisor Paul Tungwarara says he was not bothered by his exclusion from the nomination to 10 new Senate seats created under Constitutional Amendment Act No. 3, according to a leaked audio recording that has been circulating online.
In the audio, allegedly a conversation between Tungwarara and an unidentified person claiming to be a journalist, the investment advisor is heard stating that he was not aggrieved to have been left out of the list announced last week.
"I am not worried about not being nominated because that was not the reason l was doing what l was doing. Some of us work for the President without expecting to be rewarded," he said.
Tungwarara, recently bulldozed into the Zanu PF Central Committee, was one of the most visible campaigners for Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3. The Bill was tabled in Parliament, passed with a two-thirds majority, and signed into law by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in July. The amendment created 10 additional Senate seats to be filled by presidential appointees selected for their professional skills and competencies, following consultation with Parliament.
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Speaker of Parliament Advocate Jacob Mudenda announced the nominees in the National Assembly on 18 August. The list includes former war veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda, former Hurungwe West MP Mary Mliswa-Chikoka, and Nokuthula Matsikenyere from Manicaland Province. Also named were businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei, lawyer and former MP Godwills Masimirembwa, Lucy Chitaga, retired Major-General Gibson Mashingaidze, former minister and broadcaster Makhosini Hlongwane, former student leader Brilliant Dube, and Irene Mutumbwa.
The appointments have drawn wide commentary. Masimirembwa and Sibanda head Zanu PF provincial structures in Harare and Bulawayo respectively, while Mliswa leads the party in Mashonaland West. The inclusion of Dube, who previously held a senior role in opposition circles and was associated with groups that opposed CAA 3, has also sparked debate. Hlongwane, a former sports minister who fell out of favour after 2017, makes a return to public office, while Tagwirei's nomination has placed focus on the role of business in politics.
The authenticity of the audio attributed to Tungwarara could not be independently verified by this publication, and the identity of the other speaker remains unknown. Efforts to reach Tungwarara for comment were unsuccessful by time of publication.
CAA 3 was among the most disputed pieces of legislation this year, with Mnangagwa loyalists such as Tungwarara defending it as necessary for effective governance, while critics argued it concentrated power in the Executive and reduced avenues for public participation.
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