Online Reporter
Wallace Ruzvidzo, [email protected]
THE first car President Mnangagwa owned while studying law at the University of Zambia stole the show at a Harare fundraising dinner — and not for its age, but for the astonishing price tag it eventually commanded. What should have been a simple piece of student‑era nostalgia turned into the star attraction of an evening where generosity, memory and national pride intertwined like threads in a finely woven story.
An Austin Morris 1300, once driven by the President during his UNZA days, rolled into the ED UNZA fundraising dinner on Thursday as a relic of youthful ambition.
It left the stage carrying a new legacy altogether — fetching an extraordinary US$1,8 million under the hammer. The winning bidder, businessman and Zanu-PF Central Committee member Dr Kudakwashe Tagwirei, didn’t just buy it; he gifted it right back into the scholarship fund, ensuring the car continued its journey not on the open road, but in the hearts and futures of aspiring scholars.
The ED UNZA scholarship, launched by President Mnangagwa in 2019, is designed to lift brilliant, sharp-minded students from every walk of life by supporting their tuition, accommodation and essential study costs.
The fund is more than a tribute — it is a bridge between the President’s own student struggles after years of imprisonment and the dreams of young Zimbabweans today. The car auction became its emotional crescendo, the headline act among memorabilia sales that together brought in US$2,5 million.
The evening’s drama had the charm of a theatre piece. The bidding for the Austin Morris began modestly at US$65 000, only to be shaken awake when Dr Tagwirei belted out “US$1 million” from across the room. Laughter rippled when the jovial President teased, “Who said it was for sale?” before cheekily adding that he wouldn’t part with it for less than US$1,8 million — a challenge Dr Tagwirei met without hesitation.
“It’s a very special moment for him,” Dr Tagwirei later said, still glowing with the thrill of the gesture. “In the spirit of creating something everlasting, I would like to donate it to the ED-UNZA foundation.”
The generosity didn’t stop at the car. A copy of the President’s university degree went for US$300 000, his portrait for US$200 000 and a class portrait for US$65 000. A house was also donated to the trust as the atmosphere swelled with goodwill and the sense of contributing to something generational.
In brief remarks, President Mnangagwa urged the private sector, development partners and philanthropists to support the scholarship, calling it “a strategic investment in skills and human capital.”
He appealed for the spirit of Ubuntu, insisting that no gifted child should be held back by financial constraints, and encouraging all present to help shape the country’s future with open hands and open hearts.
The entire evening unfolded like a celebration of memory and purpose, part charity gala, part nostalgic reflection on a life journey, with a vintage Austin Morris becoming both an heirloom and a catalyst for educational possibility. Its wanderings through the decades have now found a new meaning — not in motion, but in mentorship.
Vintage cars, after all, are not merely vehicles; they are rolling chapters of history, craftsmanship and cherished sentiment. Zimbabwe’s vintage car scene mirrors this affection. It thrives quietly but passionately, drawing collectors who see not old metal, but living stories crafted in chrome and leather.
The country’s love affair with classic British marques such as Jaguar, MG and Aston Martin stretches back more than a century, with early models symbolising prestige and social arrival.
Today, the culture endures through collectors, restorers and clubs like the Zimbabwe Vintage Car Club, whose gatherings resemble curated exhibitions of memory.
Beautifully restored classics sit proudly in the sun, each one a labour of love, each one restored by skilled hands determined to keep their elegance alive.
Local craftsmen dedicate hours to reviving ageing engines and reshaping tired bodywork, breathing new life into machines that once cruised through a very different Zimbabwe.
In this world of preserved legends, the President’s old Austin Morris has now found itself elevated into a rare league — a humble student-era companion transformed into a multimillion-dollar emblem of hope.
