FORMER Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) Commander Anselem Sanyatwe was yesterday sworn in Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture minister, ending speculation about his future following his surprise re-assignment to government offices in the latest twist to Zanu PF’s factional fights.
Sanyatwe took oath of office before President Emmerson Mnangagwa at State House in Harare, replacing Kirsty Coventry, who was recently elected president of the International Olympics Committee.
Vice-Presidents Kembo Mohadi and Constantino Chiwenga witnessed the occasion.
Sanyatwe’s swearing in came before the announcement last night that Mnangagwa had promoted Major-General Emmanuel Matatu to the position of Lieutenant-General, and appointed him Commander of the Zimbabwe National Army with immediate effect.
Mnangagwa removed Sanyatwe as army commander without notice on Tuesday, two days after NewsDay’s sister paper The Standard exposed the plot as part of Zanu PF’s factional fights to weaken Chiwenga in the race to succeed the President.
Chiwenga has all along been seen as a frontrunner in the race to succeed Mnangagwa and was reported to be boasting of the support of the army, where Sanyatwe was boss.
Observers have suggested that the removal of Sanyatwe, who was appointed army commander in October 2023, was a bold move by Mnangagwa to weaken and demoralise Chiwenga’s support base.
Sanyatwe was previously Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Tanzania after Mnangagwa removed him from the army, where he was the commander of the Presidential Guard.
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He played a key role in the military coup that toppled the late former President Robert Mugabe in November 2017.
His removal from ZNA comes amid intense infighting in Zanu PF over controversial plans to extend Mnangagwa’s term of office by two years from 2028 to 2030 despite opposition from the grassroots, including war veterans.
Analysts said the removal of Sanyatwe was intriguing.
“ED [Mnangagwa] deployed chessboard politics of the highest order, weaving elaborate plots along the way, but I deconstructed them and got there,” analyst Brighton Mutebuka commented on X (formerly Twitter).
“It’s all high-level chessboard politics on display there, in close quarters, plots and subplots.”
Exiled former Cabinet minister Walter Mzembi, however, presented a technical analysis to the matter saying Sanyatwe was not demoted.
“Well, a Cabinet minister even without portfolio is senior to a ZNA Commander, also senior to a CDF. The latter has direct reporting lines both to the Commander-In-Chief (President) and Minister of Defence, who is on a horizontal level with other Cabinet ministers,” Mzembi argued.
“In terms of clout, privileges and span of control and responsibilities, the army commander outstrips most Cabinet ministers, but salutes them.
“After everything has been said and done, the ultimate appointing authority of all these positions is the President and everyone serves at his pleasure. He can disappoint or appoint, transfer or retire anyone.”
Sanyatwe was removed amid panic in government following calls for nationwide protests by war veterans to force Mnangagwa to step down.
