The ZANU PF Youth League has sternly warned Wicknell Chivayo against abusing the name of the Party and State structures for self-aggrandizement.
In leaked voice notes circulating on social media platforms, Chivayo boasts about his influence, stating that President Emmerson Mnangagwa and State structures are under his control.
Chivayo is also heard on the audios, which were apparently sent in January this year to a closed WhatsApp group which included his now estranged business partners, Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu, claiming to have made several payments to senior government officials to secure tenders.
Chivayo owns half a dozen Rolls Royce cars and has given away more than 100 vehicles to ZANU PF-aligned public figures, including musician Jah Prayzah, in less than a year.
In a statement, ZANU PF Youth League Secretary for Information and Publicity Phillipa Mukoko said that while they appreciate Chivayo’s donations to society, the Party will not allow him to abuse its name and that of the President for self-aggrandizement. Reads the statement:
The Youth League has noted with serious concern the malicious, unfounded and scandalous utterances by Mr Wicknell Chivhayo widely circulated on social media.
His mischievous claims purporting to be very close to His Excellency the President Cde Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa are unfortunate and regrettable.
Whilst the Youth League appreciates donations that Mr Chivhayo has been giving to the members of our society, in his own capacity as an ordinary citizen, and, although we do not know the source of his income, let it be firmly known that as the vanguard of ZANU PF we will not just sit and watch the name of our most revered leader being tarnished by such malcontents for their own self-aggrandizement.
Our President has an open-door policy that must never be abused. We have realized that Mr Wicknell Chivhayo has abused his access to the leadership.
Let it be known by whoever is concerned that our tried and tested leader is a statesman of the highest calibre, integrity, standing, and repute.
The Youth League, therefore, calls upon Mr Chivhayo and his accomplices to desist from using the name of our President in their nefarious shenanigans.
We further call upon all the relevant authorities to look into this matter to protect our revered leader and the national interests of our motherland, Zimbabwe.
Furthermore, the Youth League expresses grave concern at the video being circulated by Mr Chivhayo where he is seen at Bulawayo Airport with some of the Youth League members to give an impression that they were welcoming him.
As a matter of fact, the video in question is a misrepresentation and was taken on 26 April 2024, when the Youth League leadership was at Bulawayo International Airport waiting to welcome His Excellency the President Cde Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa who was scheduled to attend the 2024 ZITF which was officially opened by President of the Republic of Kenya Dr William Ruto.
The League wishes to put it on record that Mr Chivhayo does not hold any influential position in the Party that warrant him to have a delegation receiving him at the airport. Such an arrangement is a preserve for the President and Head of State only.
We sternly warn him to abstain from abusing Party and Government structures for his brute personal agenda.
