A roots-and-branch shake-up is in the offing in the
security sector as President Emmerson Mnangagwa moves to fill in the vacancies
occasioned by the elevation of top service chiefs before and after the dramatic
exit of his predecessor, Robert Mugabe.
In the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), the surprise
promotion of Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) boss, Air Marshal Perrance Shiri and
that of Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) Major General Sibusiso Moyo into
Mnangagwa’s Cabinet has created voids in the command structure of the uniformed
forces that cannot go for long without being filled.
Born Bigboy Samson Chikerema, Shiri is the new minister of
Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, while Moyo, who was ZDF’s
spokesperson during its intervention in the ruling party’s internal affairs, is
now the country’s top diplomat — as minister of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade.
By virtue of their Cabinet appointments, Shiri and Moyo
automatically relinquished their positions in the security service.
Section 106(2) of the Constitution does not allow vice
presidents, ministers and deputy ministers to directly or indirectly hold any
other public office or undertake in any paid work during their tenure of
office.
In the secret service, the office of director-general (DG)
of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) has been vacant since October
when Happyton Bonyongwe was appointed Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
minister by Mugabe.
Bonyongwe became one of the shortest lived Cabinet
ministers after he was replaced by Zvimba West legislator, Ziyambi Ziyambi, a
month into the job.
Currently, the deputy director-general of CIO, Aaron
Nhepera, is the acting DG.
Nhepera is tipped to take over the position, although
several other names have been put forward, including that of top military man,
Trust Mugoba.
In the event that Mnangagwa settles for Mugoba, he will
have to recall Mugoba from the position of defence attaché to the African Union
where Mugabe had posted him.
Before the fall of Mugabe last month, presidential
spokesperson George Charamba had told the Daily News that the position of CIO
DG was “so critical that it would not take too long before a substantive
appointment was made”.
Sources close to the presidency told the Daily News this
week that Mnangagwa — who is familiar with the security sector having been the
Defence and Security minister at varying intervals — could take advantage of
the voids in the CIO and ZDF to institute a roots-and-branch shake-up in order
to put trusted lieutenants in strategic positions.
He is seen elevating ZDF Commander Constantino Chiwenga
into the presidium as one of his two deputies as part of the succession in Zanu
PF, and to allow himself to ring changes in the army.
Chiwenga declined to entertain questions after being
contacted for comment.
“I can’t answer you on that, I don’t know,” he said before
appearing to terminate the line.
Chiwenga played a stellar role during Mnangagwa’s
ascendancy to the top office after masterminding what has become known as
Operation Restore Legacy, which triggered Mugabe’s downfall after 37 years in
power.
He was attested to the ZNA in 1981 as a brigadier
commanding First Brigade in Bulawayo.
Chiwenga was later promoted to the rank of major general
and reverted to his original name of Constantine Chiwenga.
On the formation of the ZDF in 1994, he was promoted to the
rank of lieutenant general and was appointed commander of the ZNA thereafter.
Upon the retirement of General Vitalis Zvinavashe in 2004,
he was promoted to the rank of commander of the ZDF.
He is the chairperson of the Joint Operations Command
(Joc), comprising ZNA, Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services, CIO, ZRP and
AFZ.
In the event that Chiwenga is appointed vice president at
the forthcoming Zanu PF extraordinary congress in Harare, he could be replaced
by ZNA commander, Phillip Vallerio Sibanda, which ultimately means there would
be need for further adjustments.
Zanu PF holds its special congress next week during which
Mnangagwa will be obligated by the party’s constitution to handpick his top
team comprising his two deputies, members of the politburo and members of the
central committee.
Sibanda’s promotion would open the race for the top ZNA job
between Brigadier General Anselem Sanyatwe, the commander of the Presidential
Guard, and Brigadier General Douglas Nyikayaramba, the chief of staff,
administration at the ZNA.
To complete the changes within ZDF top hierarchy, Air Vice
Marshal Elson Moyo is tipped to replace Shiri.
The manner in which Operation Restore Legacy was executed
showed the deep-seated mistrust between the military, which masterminded
Mnangagwa’s ascendancy and the other arms of the security services namely the
CIO and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP).
Sources said even though Mnangagwa has pronounced himself
on the need to let bygones be bygones, he can only begin to have confidence in
the CIO and ZRP once they have been placed in trusted hands.
They said the detention and confinement of some of the
officials in the top hierarchy of the secret services has created animosity
between them and the leaders of the military operation, which creates a huge
risk for Mnangagwa if he is to retain them in their positions.
Instead of taking the risk, Mnangagwa has been advised to
either retire Mugabe’s allies in the security services or buy their remaining
years in service.
ZRP commissioner-general Augustine Chihuri is among the top
securocrats facing an uncertain future.
Chihuri got a rude awakening when he stood to take oath of
office during Mnangagwa’s inauguration after he was booed and called off the
stage by a 60 000-capacity crowd at the giant National Sports Stadium in
Harare.
There have been widespread calls for Chihuri to resign. Chihuri has been in his position for more than 23 years,
having been rewarded with a contract renewal over 13 times since 1997.
He took over the reigns as acting commissioner in 1991,
replacing Henry Mukurazhizha.
Two years later, he eventually became substantive police
commissioner in 1993.
In 2008, he was appointed to commissioner-general when the
post was created to replace that of commissioner.
His term was extended by four years. Before independence,
he was a member of the Zimbabwe People’s Army which was an attempt at unifying
the two major military outfit — Zanla and Zipra.
Chihuri was reportedly imprisoned along with other Zipra
leaders after a meeting convened by Samora Machel where Mugabe was present
during the war for Zimbabwe’s independence.
His name during the second Chimurenga was “Cde Chocha”. Also
likely to be affected is ZRP deputy commissioner-general Innocent Matibiri who
is a close relation to the ousted Mugabe. Daily News
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