Controversial tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei said he battled Covid-19 for four months, spending 37 days in a coma before he dished out US$5,3 million to local football giants Dynamos and Highlanders FC.
As reported by Nehanda Radio, Tagwirei made a surprise visit to Highlanders Football Club in Bulawayo on Sunday afternoon and pledged to renovate its offices. Addressing journalists, the Sakunda Holdings boss, however, said he went for 37 days in a coma battling Covid-19.
“I was looking at how dilapidated these offices are now, so we are going to fix them starting from tomorrow (Monday),” he said.
“God has graced me with life because I was very sick for four months. I was in hospital with Covid-19 and spent 37-days in a coma.”
Last month, Sakunda Holdings made a US$5.3 million sponsorship over three seasons of the country’s two biggest football clubs, Dynamos and Highlanders. He also donated US$180 000 from his pocket for buying houses for Dynamos legend Moses Chunga and his Highlanders counterpart Madinda Ndlovu.
Critics have since pointed out that the fuel mogul and President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s close ally was trying to sanitise the money that he allegedly got through corruption. Tagwirei and his companies were listed by research entities as having captured the struggling economy.
Tagwirei and his companies were slapped with sanctions by Britain and the United States who accused them of working with government officials to corruptly milk Zimbabwe’s resources at the expense of the poor.
A research by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) recently established that after being sanctioned by the United States and United Kingdom for corruption, Tagwirei continued to do business by relocating his network to Mauritius.
The report said Tagwirei earned at least US$100 million in fees from a partnership with Swiss-based Trafigura. Together, they have profited extensively by dominating Zimbabwe’s fuel market since 2013.
Few days ago, through his company Fossil Contracting, fronted by Obey Chimuka, Tagwirei once again won a multimillion dollar (US$85 million) contract for the construction of the Mbudzi interchange flyover.
In July, a report titled “Shadows and Shell Games: Uncovering an Offshore Business Empire in Zimbabwe”, by the Sentry, also raised eyebrows.
t revealed key details of Tagwirei’s business dealings alleging that he presides over a sprawling network of more than 40 companies spanning the oil, mining, banking, logistics, transportation, and import/export, which have been linked to alleged corrupt activities and state capture.
