The Chipfumbu Deception: Reform or Reputation Laundering?

Napoleon Animal Farm Cartoon – ZIMURA Reform Allegory

By Southerton Business Times Investigations DeskPublished: February 2026

HARARE — Phillip Chipfumbu would have Zimbabwe believe he is the lone voice crying in the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (ZIMURA) wilderness a principled martyr cast out for his sudden, inconvenient courage. But the documentary record and a chorus of boardroom ghosts tell a far less cinematic story. Chipfumbu wasn’t the man who exposed the feast; he was a privileged guest at the table, napkin tucked and plate full, until the seat was pulled from beneath him.

The question that haunts the corridors of 102 Mendel Road is simple, how does a man move from being the inner-circle confidant of Polisile Ncube-Chimhini to being her most venomous opponent? For years, Chipfumbu didn't just witness the governance rot, he helped maintain the plumbing. As the Chair of the Disciplinary Committee, he was the board's heavy, the one who swung the gavel to silence dissenters like Fred Nyakudanga and Clive Malunga men who were demanding transparency while Chipfumbu was still approving the very minutes he now calls fraudulent.

His "road to Damascus" moment didn’t happen because of a moral epiphany, it happened because of a travel schedule. Insiders point to his exclusion from a high-profile Bulawayo trip in March 2023, and the lucrative allowances that vanished with it, as the real catalyst for his rebellion. It was only after his access to the "gravy train" was severed that the whistle suddenly blew. Now, he presents himself as the architect of reform, but many veterans wonder if this is a genuine conversion or merely a spurned insider rebranding his exclusion as a revolution.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwMMnAIruNs

This video is relevant as it provides the latest 2026 commentary on Phillip Chipfumbu's evolving role in the ZIMURA conflict and his recent fallout with other reformist figures.

I. THE MAKING OF A MARTYR: WHEN THE GRAVY TRAIN DERAILED

This is not a fable, though it reads like Animal Farm, and Chipfumbu seems determined to audition for the role of Napoleon. Before the Facebook rebrands and reformist sermons, there were allowances, celebratory gatherings, and boardroom votes cast in disciplined silence.

Let us correct the record.

The so-called “Marigolis retreat” was in fact a graduation celebration for Polisile Ncube-Chimhini. Likewise, the Maranatha Gardens gathering was a celebration for a fellow musician-turned-politician entering Parliament.

Wait, why him? Why was this male comrade’s political ascent toasted with ZIMURA funds while a powerhouse like Sandra Ndebele, who also made the jump to the political arena, didn't get a "strategy retreat" in her honor? Is ZIMURA’s hospitality reserved only for the boys' club?

Multiple insiders confirm that Chipfumbu benefited from disbursements linked to such gatherings during the era in question. There is no documented dissent from him. No recorded objection. Silence, it seems, is easier when the trough is full. The question of Chipfumbu’s personal benefit from ZIMURA funds extends beyond routine board remuneration. Multiple sources have corroborated longstanding whispers that following the passing of his dear wife, Mhdsrip, Chipfumbu received approximately USD 3,000 from ZIMURA resources.

While funeral assistance is unobjectionable in principle, sources who served on the board at the time have questioned both the quantum of the payment and the process of its approval. Chipfumbu was, at that point, a sitting board member and Chair of the Disciplinary Committee. He was, in effect, both beneficiary and, collectively, approver. How much did Nicholas Zakaria get for his funeral expenses?

This is not whistleblowing. This is participation.

II. THE ELDERS WHO SPOKE FIRST

Chipfumbu did not ignite this struggle. He entered a battlefield already scorched. Veteran musicians, including Professor Fred Zindi and Clive Malunga, were raising governance alarms years before Chipfumbu joined the board. They were expelled for speaking out long before his membership began, and they continued to challenge governance issues even after he entered the boardroom in 2019.

Reform did not begin with his expulsion. It predated his election. During his tenure as Chair of the Disciplinary Committee, actions were taken against members, including Kireni Zulu, Shame Charika, Lazzie T, and Fred Nyakudanga. Internal critics faced consequences while Chipfumbu held institutional authority.

The historical record is clear, dissent at ZIMURA carried a price long before 2023.

III. THE REBRANDING PROJECT: REPUTATION LAUNDRY

Following his 2023 expulsion, Chipfumbu moved quickly to construct a reformist identity. Social media platforms emerged under titles such as “Extraordinary Meeting 22 June 2023,” later morphing into “New Zimura Group” and then “New Era Group.”

These were not organic uprisings. They were branding transitions. In mid-2023, a gathering convened at the Zimbabwe College of Music was characterised by the National Arts Council as unlawful. The optics were striking, the former disciplinarian recast as insurgent-in-chief.

Costume change complete.

IV. THE REFORM THAT PRECEDED HIM

The reform conversation did not originate in 2023. The Zimbabwe Union of Musicians (ZIMU) had been interrogating administrative costs as early as 2018. Edith Katiji identified deductions reportedly reaching approximately 33% and escalated concerns internationally, including consultations with CISAC in Norway, where concerns were reportedly raised about excessive charges for an established collecting society.

Public reform statements from 2025 predate the AGM that ushered in the current outspoken board members. On 19 January 2026, sitting board members Gift Amuli, Joseph Garakara, and Dereck Mpofu demanded a forensic audit while still occupying their seats. That distinction matters.

Chipfumbu’s public dissent only crystallised after exclusion from board activities and allowances in 2023. His conviction against Ncube-Chimhini is a matter of court record and stands acknowledged. But one courtroom victory does not retroactively create years of opposition.

V. CONCLUSION: AMBITION IN OVERALLS

ZIMURA’s nearly 6,000 members must now confront a sober question:

Is this reform or repositioning?

Is this accountability or ambition in overalls?

The elders spoke first. The union pushed early. Reform currents predated Chipfumbu’s board membership. Others paid the price before he ever entered the chamber.

The gravy train has indeed stopped.

The question is whether members will now purchase tickets from a former passenger who insists he was the driver all along.

Phillip Chipfumbu reform claims