Energy Mutodi

Children

He was once married Tariro Chirende and the two had a son, Energy Mutodi Junior.

Education

He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree at the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) in 2001.^[3] He went to South Africa and was enrolled at Witwatersrand where he graduated with a Certificate in Defense Management.^[3] In 2011 he was at UZ doing a Masters Degree in Business Administration.^[3]

On 10 December 2021, Energy Mutodi graduated from the University of Zimbabwe with a law degree.^[4]

Musical career

Mutodi is a part time Sungura musician who decided to venture into music in 2012. He has so far released four albums. Some of the songs that made him popular are Angelina, Chigorodanda and Tozosangana.

Political career

Mutodi is a member of the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF). In the 2013 July 31 harmonized elections, he contested during the ZANU PF primaries to be selected to be the ZANU PF member to contest for the Goromonzi South Constituency.^[5] However he was defeated by Beatrice Nyamupinga who was selected to be the Member of Parliament during the coveted July 31 elections.^[6]

When it was reported that the ousted Vice President of Zimbabwe, Joice Mujuru and her allies were planning to assassinate the President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, Mutodi produced his own version of the story pinning Mujuru and his allies. He claimed that he conducted his own investigations and discovered that Mujuru who was accused of fanning factionalism within ZANU PF was guilty of hatching a plot to assassinate Mugabe. He stated that, her allies, namely, Nicholas Goche, Tendai Savanhu and Ray Kaukonde met in South Africa where they resolved on how to kill Mugabe with the aid of a group of mercenaries known as Sandline International (formerly known as Executive Outcomes).^[7] According to Mutodi, these people devised 3 strategic ways to kill Mugabe.^[7] In the wake of these revelations by Mutodi, it was widely reported that Mutodi was trying desperately to gain favour with by Mugabe so that pending fraud charges could be to be dropped.

Energy Mutodi and Mnangagwa with I Am The Boss cup

After Mujuru was expelled from Zanu-PF, Mutodi emerged as a supporter of the new faction led Mnangagwa called Lacoste. Mutodi openly sided with this faction in its fight against the G40 faction in the race to succeed Mugabe. In September 2017, just 2 months before the coup that ultimately saw Mugabe ousted by a coup that favoured Mnangagwa (and G40 defeated) Mutodi posed for a controversial picture with Mnangagwa who was holding a cup printed the words "I Am The Boss".

In 2018, Mutodi was appointed Deputy Minister of Information, Publicity & Broadcasting Services. He however continuously openly clashed with his senior the Minister of Information, Publicity & Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa just a few months after the appointment. Mutodi claimed that Mutsvangwa wanted him fired so she could have the job given to her loyalist.^[8]

On 20 May 2020, Mutodi was fired from his job.^[9] Two weeks earlier Mutodi had said that he was living in fear of the Christopher Mutsvangwa and SB Moyo follow public censor by SB Moyo for a diplomatic gaffe with Tanzania. Mutodi had criticized the Tanzanian president for focusing on prayers instead of a lockdown to curb the spread of Coronavirus in the country.^[10]

In October 2023, Mutodi was named as the new Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs in the 10th Parliament of Zimbabwe.

Fraud Allegations

In 2014, accused of swindling more than US$2 million from desperate home seekers in Mutare. At the same time he was facing similar charges involving more than US$6 million in Harare. Through his National Housing Development Trust (NHDT), Mutodi allegedly demanded monthly subscriptions from civil servants promising them stands to purchase of land in Mutare’s Gimboki South housing project. He allegedly converted the money to his personal account which he had opened at Kingdom Bank. 22 000 witnesses testified nailing Mutodi.^[11] The case was however postponed and he was granted a bail.^[12] On 29 January 2015, Mutodi was acquitted.^[13]

The Divorce

In 2013 Mutodi's marriage crumbled and it was reported that infidelity was the main reason why the couple decided to call it quits. Tariro stated that, Mutodi infected her with an STI. Mutodi however said his wife was the one who infected him with an STI.^[14] After the divorce the court ordered Mutodi to pay US$450 on a monthly basis for the upkeep of his son of which he initially wanted to pay US$50.^[15]

Dzamara Abduction Slur And Apology

On March 2015, Mutodi posted on his Facebook page that Itai Dzamara had faked his abduction and was hiding in Botswana. Mutodi argues that Dzamara is

"...an attention seeking poor and lowly-schooled man who staged a solo demonstration commonly called 'Occupy Africa Unity Square' has been in the news in recent weeks after reports indicated that he had been abducted by alleged state security agents. But investigations have revealed the man is holed in a hotel in Botswana and is being used as an epicenter for anarchy and controversy by regime change agents. In fact, a boastful member of the opposition MDC-T has said that Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDCT leader as well as Obert Gutu the party's spokesperson among other senior opposition figures are behind the fake abduction just to make headlines and create relevance for their now unpopular opposition party. Both police and ZANU PF government officials have recently condemned the disappearance of Dzamara, with Acting President Mnangagwa describing it as barbaric and therefore unacceptable."

^[16]

Mutodi allegedly apologised in June 2016, for his utterances following the release of an image by Dzamara's younger brother Patson showing what he claimed was Itai in captivity. Mutodi blamed a young Zanu (PF) activist named Fidelis Fengu, of misleading him to post on Facebook that Dzamara had fled for Botswana.^[17]

Below is a snippet of Mutodi's Facebook post concerning Dzamara's abduction.

Mutodi's arrest for undermining the authority of Robert Mugabe

Harare businessman-cum-musician Energy Mutodi was arrested following an article he posted on Facebook regarding President Mugabe’s succession. Police sources said Mutodi was arrested by detectives from the CID Law and Order section and taken to Harare Central Police Station for further investigations. On August 6, Mutodi posted an article with a headline, “WHY CHOOSING A SUCCESSOR IS A DIFFICULT JOB.

Discography

1. Sekawo Mbichana (2012)
2. Magetsi Ngaabake (2013)
3. Chibvuramabwe (2013)
4. Kuita Kuri Kwenyu (2014)

Trivia

Mutodi has authored Geography textbooks and is also a military strategist.^[3]

Energy Mutodi's videos

References