Who really runs Zimbabwe? This $20m wedding holds the answer

In late May, Zimbabwe’s one percent gathered at a polo club on the outskirts of Harare to celebrate the marriage of one of their own.

The country had never before seen a wedding like this. From the groom’s father, a presidential advisor and US-sanctioned tycoon, the couple received $17.5 million in cash and land.

From government ministers, politically connected businessmen and the sons of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the couple – Kudakwashe Tagwirei and Poneso Tinomuda Janda – were showered with luxury cars, rare cattle and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The president delivered a speech, and the American R&B band Boyz II Men gave a surprise performance at the reception.

This parade of wealth and influence, documented on state and social media, was a clear illustration of who now holds power in the southern African country.

While Zimbabwe struggled with years of misrule and economic ruin under former leader Robert Mugabe, a Marxist who largely shunned