HARARE – President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Wednesday promoted Lieutenant General Emmanuel Matatu to the rank of General and appointed him commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), replacing General Phillip Valerio Sibanda whose term ends on November 23.
Chief cabinet secretary Martin Rushwaya said Mnangagwa also promoted Major General Asher Walter Tapfumaneyi, the army’s chief of staff, to the rank of Lieutenant General.
Tapfumaneyi takes over Matatu’s old role as commander of the Zimbabwe National Army.
Matatu, 72, only became army commander from March this year, when Mnangagwa abruptly removed Anselem Sanyatwe from the role.
Matatu takes over the military at a time when the institution continues to cast a long shadow over Zimbabwean politics. Senior commanders have historically played decisive roles in political transitions, most prominently in November 2017, when the military intervened to remove then-president Robert Mugabe after internal Zanu PF power struggles.
The operation, led by retired General Constantino Chiwenga, now vice president, paved the way for Mnangagwa to assume power.
Since then, the security sector has remained a key pillar of Mnangagwa’s administration, with several former or serving military figures appointed to influential positions in government, state enterprises and diplomatic posts.
The opposition and civil society groups have long argued that the military’s deep involvement in civilian affairs has complicated efforts toward political reform and weakened democratic oversight.
General Sibanda, who succeeded Chiwenga as ZDF commander in 2017, was seen as a stabilising figure within the ranks and has maintained a relatively low public profile compared to some of his predecessors. His exit marks another stage in the gradual reshuffling of the top command structure that began after the 2017 transition.
Sibanda’s immediate future was not immediately clear, but Mnangagwa has previously attempted to rope him into Zanu PF – including briefly naming him to the party’s politburo before he was forced to rescind the appointment after lawyers said it was unconstitutional.
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