Zhuwao entered politics in July 2007 when President
Robert Mugabe appointed him Deputy Minister of Youth. In
2008, Zhuwao was elected to the
Zimbabwe House of Assembly for the
Zvimba East constituency, as a member of
ZANU–PF. In October 2014, Zhuwao became involved in the heated ZANU–PF succession infighting between Vice-President
Joice Mujuru and then-Minister of Justice
Emmerson Mnangagwa. In an article published in state media, Zhuwao claimed that during a "coup" attempt at the residence of President Mugabe a week earlier, his wife
Beauty Zhuwao slapped ZANU–PF
Mashonaland West provincial chairman
Temba Mliswa after a tense verbal exchange. She reportedly slapped Mliswa, who did not retaliate, once, before others present intervened. In the op-ed, published in
The Sunday Mail, Zhuwao described Mawere as "ideologically bankrupt, devoid of ethics, morality and decency". He succeeded
Christopher Mushohwe, who went on to become Minister of Information. Zhuwao had been called before the committee to answer questions about an allegedly corrupt deal he had brokered when he hired a private consultancy firm, whose owner Zhuwao had a personal relationship with, to spearhead Zimbabwe's National Economic Empowerment Strategy. He announced on 10 November that government employees would be receiving
bonuses.
2017 coup d'état and aftermath On 11 November 2017, it was often incorrectly reported that Zhuwao was taken into custody by the
Zimbabwean military in relation to the
2017 coup d'état. On 19 November 2017, Zhuwao was expelled from ZANU–PF by the party's central committee. Other prominent
G40 politicians, including
Grace Mugabe,
Saviour Kasukuwere,
Jonathan Moyo,
Ignatius Chombo,
Walter Mzembi,
Shadreck Mashayamombe,
Makhosini Hlongwane,
Innocent Hamandishe,
Samuel Undenge, and
Sarah Mahoka were also expelled from the party. Even after fleeing the country, Zhuwao continued defending Robert Mugabe, calling the president's critics "dumb" and saying that the president was "willing to die for what is correct." ZANU–PF spokesman
Nick Mangwana responded that Zhuwao should stop making "inflammatory" remarks. On 27 November 2017, Mugabe's successor
Emmerson Mnangagwa dissolved the
cabinet, keeping only
Patrick Chinamasa and
Simbarashe Mumbengegwi as acting ministers of Finance until a new cabinet was named. In a December 2017 phone interview with
The Standard, Zhuwao reported that during the coup, his farm was looted and his workers were beaten. Zhuwao cited the example of the
United States, which sent
Federal Bureau of Investigation personnel to
Ethiopia to investigate a bombing in
Addis Ababa that happened on the same day as the Bulawayo bombing. As of 2020, Zhuwao was reportedly studying towards a
Doctor of Philosophy degree in digital business, with a focus on
digital agriculture, at the
University of the Witwatersrand Business School in
Johannesburg. That year, Zhuwao's 827-hectare Diandra Farm, located in Mashonaland West Province, was seized by order of the Ministry of Agriculture. Zhuwao has remained in exile since the 2017 coup, citing fear of retribution in Zimbabwe due to the "pettiness of Mnangagwa." == Personal life ==