EX-ARMY BOSS TO BE SWORN IN AS VEEP
HARARE - Retired army chief Constantino Chiwenga and veteran politician Kembo Mohadi will be sworn in as Zimbabwe’s vice presidents today, state-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation said yesterday.
The pair, appointed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, were elevated to similar positions in the ruling ZANU-PF party on Saturday.
Chiwenga retired from the military this month. His appointment was expected as a reward for leading a de facto coup in November that ended Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule and brought Mnangagwa to power.
It also adds to signs of a consolidation of power for the army since it turned against the 93-year-old Mugabe. Mnangagwa has appointed several senior military officers to his cabinet and the ruling party’s top decisionmaking body, the Politburo.
Mnangagwa is under pressure from opposition parties and the public to implement political reforms.
Meanwhile, Anti-corruption investigators are probing how an ally of former first lady, Grace Mugabe, acquired large areas of prime land in the east of the country.
Saviour Kasukuwere fled the country last month following a military crackdown against alleged “criminals” surrounding the former president Robert Mugabe.
The state-run Manica Post reports in its latest edition that Kasukuwere acquired thousands of square metres of land earmarked for industrial developments in the border city of Mutare while he was still local government minister.
Kasukuwere was a key member of the G40 faction that, until November 15, appeared to have gained the upper hand within the ruling Zanu-PF party. But its rapid ascent was quashed by the military intervention that saw Mugabe pressured into resigning and replaced by Mnangagwa.
Kasukuwere is understood to now be in South Africa. Other G40 members still outside the country are former ministers Jonathan Moyo and Patrick Zhuwao. Perceived Mugabe allies still in the country, including four cabinet ministers, have been arrested and charged with corruption and other offences.