A corruption scandal has split Zimbabwe’s ruling party after Vice President Constantino Chiwenga accused business allies of President Emmerson Mnangagwa of stealing $3.2 billion, prompting a fierce rebuttal from the president’s legal affairs secretary who called the allegations “treasonous.”

The escalating dispute, documented in internal ZANU-PF papers seen by Report Focus News, exposes deep rifts within Zimbabwe’s government as the party prepares for its annual conference next week where it plans to extend Mnangagwa’s rule beyond constitutional limits.

Legal Affairs Secretary Ziyambi Ziyambi issued a 25-page response defending the accused businessmen and attacking Chiwenga’s motives.

“The document advocates for the unlawful removal of a constitutionally elected President, which is palpably treasonous,” Ziyambi wrote in his September response to Mnangagwa. “Any attempt to destabilize or subvert a constitutionally elected Government is treasonous.”

Ziyambi defended the government’s economic record, contrasting current conditions with 2017 when Chiwenga led the military operation that removed Robert Mugabe.

“In 2017, 98 percent of government revenues were being used for salaries. There were always delays in paying salaries,” Ziyambi wrote. “GDP was $17 billion and per capita income was around $1,000. Public debt to GDP was 70 percent.”

He said Zimbabwe under Mnangagwa had become “the fastest growing economy in the SADC region.”

The secretary specifically addressed each corruption allegation. On the $1.9 billion Kuvimba Mining House transaction, Ziyambi said: “It is surprising how a legitimate sale is now being distorted into an act of theft. What is required here is credible evidence, not conjecture or speculation.”

Regarding the gold incentive scheme that Chiwenga claimed enabled $800 million in theft, Ziyambi argued the program was designed to curb smuggling.

“The scheme was introduced by government to curb gold smuggling and to encourage formal deliveries of gold,” he wrote. “How then is such a programme a ‘toll gate’ when in actual fact it is curbing illicit movement of gold from the country?”

Ziyambi said transactions involving Sandawana Mines and Zimbabwe Defence Forces’ Great Dyke Investments “were executed with full Cabinet approval, and they fully adhered to all legal and procedural requirements.”

He dismissed claims about party affiliate programs being hijacked, noting the Politburo had approved these initiatives.

“The matter was comprehensively presented by the National Commissar, and no one challenged it,” Ziyambi stated. “So how can the so-called criminals hijack a process that has been endorsed by the Politburo?”

The legal secretary accused Chiwenga of personal attacks against the president and questioned the timing of the allegations.

“The author is clearly ignorant of party processes,” Ziyambi wrote. “What is shocking is that the author of this document is in denial and is not moving with the Party.”

He defended the 2030 agenda to extend Mnangagwa’s term as legitimate, citing party constitutional provisions that allow the National People’s Conference to make implementation resolutions.

“There were thirty-one resolutions emanating from the last Conference, and Agenda 2030 was resolution number one,” Ziyambi noted. “There is, therefore, nothing unconstitutional about it.”

The secretary also addressed what he called suspicious circumstances around the dossier’s creation.

“What is equally troubling is how such a document found its way into the hands of hostile media houses across the country,” Ziyambi wrote. “The circumstances under which the author obtained access to the documents, now in the public domain, remain highly questionable and amount to a violation of the Official Secrets Act.”

Political analyst Ibbo Mandaza said the exchange reflected an irreparable breakdown in the relationship between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga.

“The relationship between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga has become exactly what Mugabe and Mnangagwa’s was in 2017 — toxic and unsustainable,” Mandaza told Reuters.

The party conference beginning October 19 in Mutare is expected to formalize provincial resolutions supporting Mnangagwa’s extension to 2030, despite constitutional provisions limiting presidents to two terms.

Neither the businessmen named in Chiwenga’s dossier nor the vice president’s office responded to requests for additional comment.