HARARE – Zanu PF MP Justice Mayor Wadyajena has insisted that a supercar he bought recently cost twice more than the US$210,000 reported by ZimLive, as he faced questions about where he got the foreign currency.

Wadyajena claimed he became a millionaire right after teenagehood, after we revealed how he had splashed on a Lamborghini Urus while the country faces massive United States dollar shortages.

The Gokwe Nembudziya MP, writing on Twitter, congratulated the ZimLive editor for our story revealing the car’s owner just hours after it landed in Harare on a cargo flight – but he wanted the price tag doubled.

He wrote: “Great work on the investigative journalism Cde @Mathuthu and delivered with lightning speed. You’re every bit as good as they say you are. One correction on US$210k, you’d have to double that! I became a millionaire in my early 20s, that yellow super machine is hard earned, legitimately too!”

Wadyajena did not pay for the vehicle after exploiting a rebate of duty on vehicles imported by serving Members of Parliament. The MPs are allowed to import a vehicle each duty-free during the life of Parliament – which is once every five years.

It is not known how Wadyajena, a close ally of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, raised the money or what profitable business he is running to splash on the luxury car which is the Italian carmaker’s first SUV since the LM002 in the 1980s.

Wadyajena sued oil tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei last year. In court papers, he revealed that he was “in the transportation business” and that “trucks were his source of income and profit.” Wadyajena, through his company Mayor Logistics, used to transport fuel for Tagwirei’s Sakunda.

In 2013, Wadyajena’s ex-girlfriend sued him for US$11,600 monthly maintenance for the upkeep of their daughter, then aged 10.

Wadzanai Mudare, his former lover, claimed in a court filing that the MP had “over 100” haulage trucks and eight top-of-the-range vehicles including a BMW M5, BMW X6, a Range Rover, a Jeep Cherokee and a Land Cruiser.

But Wadyajena told the court he only earned US$2,500 per month as he offered to pay US$200 monthly instead.

“The economy is bad,” Wadyajena said at the time. “My company, Mayor Logistics, used to have sole distributorship to Sakunda Energy which was terminated four months ago. Because of that, I have not even paid my workers for the past three months. I am a legislator and surviving on a salary of US$2,200. The court should also note that I also have other commitments.”

On Twitter, he has been challenged to disclose how he earned so much foreign currency which he used to buy the sports car.

“I just want to know how you got the forex you used to pay for this car. Simple,” said Freeman Chari.

“What legitimate work affords you to buy such a car? Get away, we were not born yesterday,” said Nonhlanhla Yalala.

Others wondered why he had bought one of the world’s fastest road cars when the roads are in a bad state of repair.

“I equate buying a Lamborghini to drive on the streets of Harare to serving filet mignon on a trash can lid,” said one.

Wadyajena’s Urus is the only one in Zimbabwe.

The first ever Urus was made in December 2018 and put on the market in 2018. Less than 5,000 of the cars have been produced to date, placing the Zanu PF MP in an exclusive club.

The Urus has a front-engine, all-wheel-drive layout, and a top speed of 305 km/h making it one of the world’s fastest production SUVs. The Urus can accelerate from 0–100 km/h in 3.6 seconds and 0–200 km/h in 12.8 seconds. The car also boasts the world’s largest set of carbon ceramic disc brakes.