The optics are damning: a senior minister, caught on video, trying to hand the Vice President a specific bottle—then standing days later to denounce imagined coups and pledge loyalty to the very President at the center of growing internal unease.
As tensions simmer behind the scenes, Zimbabweans are left wondering what, exactly, was in that bottle—and why Chiwenga didn’t want it.Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe is under scrutiny after being caught on camera attempting to get Vice President Constantino Chiwenga to drink from a specific, suspicious bottle of water—an offer the VP pointedly refused.
The incident, captured at a recent public event, shows Garwe handing Chiwenga a particular bottle and insisting he drink it. Chiwenga, visibly cautious, declined. The moment has sparked widespread speculation about internal tensions and raised questions about Garwe’s intentionsPresidential Borehole Scheme—his credibility was overshadowed by the unanswered question still hanging over the water bottle exchange with Chiwenga.
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In an aggressive tone, Garwe also launched a tirade against fugitive former party member Blessed Geza, calling him a “stray dog” and threatening to humiliate him if he returned to Zimbabwe. “Geza, stay in South Africa with (Saviour) Kasukuwere if you want. Our President is Emmerson Mnangagwa,” he said.
But it’s not Geza or Kasukuwere drawing attention—it’s Garwe himself, and the lingering discomfort of a Vice President who refused to drink what was offered.Days later, in a defiant speech at a ZANU-PF rally in Glen View South, Harare, Garwe tried to shift attention from the now-viral footage by declaring that President Emmerson Mnangagwa will not be removed from power, despite rumblings of discontent from within the ruling party’s own ranks.
“President Mnangagwa won the election in 2023. Now, in his second term, some are already plotting, saying they can’t wait for his term to end and are calling for demonstrations to remove him. What do they mean they ‘can’t wait’?” Garwe asked, speaking in support of ZANU-PF parliamentary candidate Tsitsi Tranquillity Tawomhera. “Cde Mnangagwa is our President, whether they like it or not.”
While Garwe publicly praised Mnangagwa’s development initiatives—such as the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme and the Presidential Borehole Scheme—his credibility was overshadowed by the unanswered question still
