HARARE
–
Tasara
Hungwe,
the
Zanu
PF
MP
for
Mberengwa
East,
is
under
investigation
for
allegedly
diverting
over
ZiG1.3
million
from
a
parliamentary
Constituency
Development
Fund
(CDF),
ZimLive
can
reveal.
Parliament
disbursed
the
funds
in
August
last
year,
and
Hungwe
is
accused
of
quickly
initiating
a
series
of
transfers
that
ultimately
saw
the
money
land
in
the
account
of
a
microfinance
company,
which
allegedly
paid
him
out
in
United
States
dollars.
The
Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption
Commission
(ZACC)
was
reportedly
poised
to
arrest
Hungwe
last
week,
but
sources
claim
a
senior
Zanu
PF
official
intervened
to
stop
the
move.
ZACC
declined
to
respond
to
questions,
while
Hungwe
denies
any
wrongdoing.
Sources
say
the
Reserve
Bank
of
Zimbabwe’s
Financial
Intelligence
Unit
is
assisting
in
the
investigation.
Hungwe,
a
first-term
MP
elected
in
2023,
is
a
director
of
two
companies
–
Tatiude
(Pvt)
Ltd
and
Matquick
Hardware
(Pvt)
Ltd.
Mberengwa
East
received
ZiG1,341,500
(about
US$53,000)
under
the
CDF,
paid
out
on
August
14,
2025,
according
to
documents
seen
by
ZimLive.
Soon
after,
Hungwe
transferred
ZiG799,641.32
to
Tatiude
and
ZiG440,171.37
to
Matquick
Hardware,
both
linked
to
him.
The
companies
then
moved
the
funds
to
Simbaramabwe
Construction
and
Hardware
(Pvt)
Ltd
–
ZiG760,000
from
Tatiude
and
ZiG361,000
from
Matquick.
Simbaramabwe
subsequently
channelled
the
money
to
Success
Microfinance,
where
the
trail
goes
cold.
Investigators
believe
the
firm
then
paid
Hungwe
in
US
dollars.
A
source
familiar
with
the
probe
said
there
were
“strong
suspicions
of
misuse,
possible
diversion
of
public
funds
from
their
intended
purpose,
and
an
obvious
conflict
of
interest
potentially
amounting
to
money
laundering.”
CDF
allocations
are
meant
for
constituency
projects
pre-approved
by
Parliament
and
managed
by
a
local
committee
comprising
the
area
senator,
proportional
representation
MP,
selected
councillors
and
traditional
leaders.
Signatories
are
drawn
from
this
committee
and
operate
a
designated
account.
ZACC
had
not
responded
to
detailed
questions
at
the
time
of
publication,
despite
earlier
indications
it
would
do
so.
We
had
specifically
asked
the
anti-graft
body
to
respond
to
allegations
of
political
interference
in
its
investigations.
Hungwe
insisted
he
could
account
for
the
funds
but
declined
to
answer
questions
about
the
companies
involved,
identify
members
of
his
CDF
committee,
or
specify
which
projects
had
been
funded.
“Diverting
CDF
money,
me?
That
is
not
a
true
story,”
he
said
in
response
to
written
questions
which
he
did
not
address.
Hungwe
is
the
second
Zanu
PF
MP
to
be
investigated
over
alleged
CDF
abuse
this
year.
In
January,
Chiredzi
West
MP
Darlington
Chiwa
was
arrested
by
ZACC
for
allegedly
diverting
over
ZiG990,000
(about
US$50,000
at
the
April
2025
exchange
rate)
from
the
constituency
account
into
his
personal
accounts.
He
is
accused
of
using
the
funds
for
personal
expenses,
including
beer,
shoes,
groceries
and
building
materials,
with
only
a
small
portion
going
towards
constituency
projects.
The
case
is
pending.