SPEAKING on the sidelines of Floyd Mayweather’s Mabvuku visit, Scott Sakupwanya said he had fulfilled his promise to bring the boxer.
“I had promised them the boxer and it had been two years, but today, he is here,” Sakupwanya briefly said.
If Sakupwanya's assertion is anything to go by, the boxer's visit was supposed to translate into votes.
The American's drive from his luxurious Miekles hotel room to the dusty Mabvuku grounds was supposed to 'drive' Sakupwanya into the august house, alas his competitor Febion Kufahakutizwe will walk 'scot free' into Parliament.
Despite splashing money on a lavish campaign, gold dealer-cum politician Sakupwanya failed to secure a seat in the new Parliament.
Sakupwanya was running for the House of Assembly seat in Mabvuku-Tafara under the a Zanu PF ticket.
By Thursday afternoon, reports from the constituency command centre indicated that Sakupwanya had garnered 12 038 votes whilst his opponent Febion Kufahakutizwi had posted 15 934 votes.
The loss came after Sakupwanya, who is also into showbiz promotion had spent a lot on bringing Maywether to his constituency in a bid to solicit for votes.
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Residents in Mabvuku said Sakupwanya's campaign strategies were out of touch with the constituency.
"We can't be enticed by Mayweather yet we have serious issues like water, sewer problems and electricity shortages.
"What should we do after watching Mayweather punching a bag. We are not looking for entertainment but s services and policies that help save lives from dire health systems and governance," said a voter identified as Albert Chekai.
Speaking on Wednesday the new Mabvuku-Tafara member of parliament said "I saw it coming, I knew that I was going to win.
"People are fed up with this regime and we are the government in waiting. We need to deal with real issues like getting clean water for the residents,"
Mayweather was taken to Mabvuku and was later hosted at a five-star hotel in the capital at a dinner where only local businesspeople and gold dealers converged, before the boxer took his tour to South Africa.
Sakupwanya is alleged to have used over US$1 million to host the retired boxing champion, whose nom de guerre is “Money”.
Sakupwanya was earlier this year named as one of the country’s biggest gold barons by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ambassador-at-large Uebert Angel in an Al Jazeera four-episode documentary Gold Mafia, which alleged massive gold smuggling and money laundering in Zimbabwe.
Sakupwanya’s Betterbrands company mining operations in Penhalonga, north of Mutare city in Manicaland, has been underfire from community members and authorities.
The mine was closed early this year by government following reports of at least 100 people dying at the mine since 2020.
Betterbrands has, however, since resumed operations at the mine.
Last year, the gold dealer flew in rapper Rick Ross, born William Leonard Roberts II, for a show at the Harare International Conference Centre. Ross was reportedly hired for US$200 000.
