Former Zimbabwe’s military commander who led the revolt against former president Robert Mugabe was installed as the country’s vice president in Harare on Thursday.
Constantino Chiwenga whose appearance on state television on Nov. 15 preceded armed soldiers taking to the streets, paving the way for Emmerson Mnangagwa to become president, is the latest in a string of military leaders to be elevated to government positions.
His naming as the country’s vice president has deepened concerns among some in the southern African nation about the military’s close ties with Mnangagwa. On November 30 he made former general Sibusiso Moyo foreign minister and former air force chief Perence Shiri was named minister of agriculture and land affairs.
According to The Zimbabwe Herald newspaper, Mnangagwa has appointed former state security minister Kembo Mohadi as his other vice president.
Chiwenga and Mohadi were last week appointed as vice presidents of the ruling Zanu-PF party by the president.
Just like the Mnangagwa, Chiwenga was former president Mugabe’s right hand man and he played a central role in the seizure of white-owned farms and orchestrated a brutal crackdown on the opposition after elections in 2008.
He is now said to be committed to rescuing Zimbabwe’s economy, which he believes is in such a dire state that it threatens national security.
