The President has sent me to come and give you an empowerment fund of US$200,000. Everything has a starting point, this is a seed coming from the President. You need to go and plant this seed and water it with prayers, and you will see it blossom,” said Tungwarara.
However, observers have raised alarm over the growing use of public and private funds by Mnangagwa’s administration to co-opt religious institutions into partisan politics. The Vapostori4ED movement — a church-based arm of the ruling Zanu PF party — has been mobilizing religious followers in support of Mnangagwa’s contested presidency.
Chairperson of Vapostori4ED, Madzibaba Moses Gwasira, praised the fund as a gesture of compassion and inclusivity, claiming, “We are grateful to receive this gift from the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa. He indeed has people at heart.”
The handover coincided with the Johane Masowe eChishanu church’s three-day national conference, where sect members claimed to be praying for national peace, reduced road carnage, and the success of Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030 agenda.
In addition to the cash disbursement, Tungwarara promised that the apostolic churches would benefit from borehole drilling projects and the construction of ablution facilities at their shrines — further entrenching Mnangagwa’s patronage network within grassroots religious communitiesCorrespondent-President Emmerson Mnangagwa has handed over US$200,000 to Apostolic and Zion church leaders under the guise of a “Presidential Empowerment Fund,” in what critics say is a blatant act of political bribery aimed at buying loyalty from influential religious groups ahead of future elections.
The money was disbursed during the Vapostori4ED international conference held in Harare on Saturday, where Mnangagwa’s emissary, Presidential Investment Advisor, Paul Tungwarara, described the fund as “a seed” meant to support income-generating projects within the sects.
