BY MOSES MATENGA A leaked telephone conversation between President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s loyalists suggesting the President was weak and captured by business cartels has gone viral on social media platforms, NewsDay can reveal. Voices in the audio recording are believed to be that of Mnangagwa’s key proponent, tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei and Norton Member of Parliament Temba Mliswa. Both Tagwirei and Mliswa could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the audio yesterday. However, Secretary for Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Ndavaningi Mangwana said, if the recording was authentic, then it proved that the President was not captured. “(I) listened to an audio circulating on social media (and) whilst its authenticity has not been verified, what stands out is that, the parties having a conversation agree that President ED is not captured. He makes his own decisions on merit to the frustration of those with entitlements,” Mangwana said. In the 26-minute audio, the known Zanu PF benefactor and Sakunda Holdings proprietor, seems to suggest that he influenced most key government appointments made by the Zanu PF leader since he came into power in November 2017.