By Princess Eugene Majuru
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Harare, Zimbabwe ( News of The South) – This article is an analysis of whether the Zimbabwean Constitution and the Defence Forces Acts have any contradictions regarding the retirement or removal of an army general, specifically in the case of General Sanyatwe. Based on recent news reports and press statement issued by Zimbabwean government on (March 25-26, 2025), President Mnangagwa has retired Lieutenant General Anselem Sanyatwe from his position as Commander of the Zimbabwe National Army and appointed him as the Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts, and Culture.
The official statement regarding this action cites the following constitutional and legal provisions:
Section 216 (2) of the Constitution: This section deals with the command of the Defence Forces.
Section 340 (1) (f) of the Constitution: This section likely outlines the procedures for the removal or retirement of members of the Defence Forces.
Section 115 (Commander in Chief Prerogative) of the Defence Act [Chapter 11:02]: This section grants the President, as Commander-in-Chief, certain powers regarding the Defence Forces.
Section 104 (3) of the Constitution: This section allows the President to appoint ministers from outside Parliament.
Section 108 (1) (a) of the Constitution: This section likely deals with the President’s power to relieve a minister of their duties.
The President’s actions in retiring General Sanyatwe and appointing him to a ministerial position are stated to be in accordance with these constitutional and legal provisions.
To determine if there’s a self-contradiction, a detailed legal analysis of the specific sections of the Constitution and the Defence Forces Act, along with the specific procedures outlined for the retirement or removal of an army general, would be required. This would involve comparing the provisions and checking if the actions taken in General Sanyatwe’s case align with all the stipulated procedures.
Without a direct legal analysis of these specific sections, it’s difficult to definitively state whether a contradiction exists. However, the government’s statement claims that the actions were taken in accordance with the relevant laws.
Before General Constantine Chiwenga was appointed as Vice Presidenta few years ago, Mnangagwa is known to have said:
” Before appointing the Vice President I am waiting for Institutional procedures”
The procedure meant Chiwenga had to resign from his post of Commander of Defence Forces first beforehe could be appointed Vice President. This happened on the day Ministers were appointed.
A look back shows that several army bosses were retired using the same Constitution these include the late Perrence Shiri who had same position as Sanyatwe he was Commander of Air force of Zimbabwe when we compare the two we see that Shiri was Commander of Air Force and Sanyatwe of ground force. Shiri was then appointed Minister of Agriculture. Douglas Nyikayaramba was due to be Commander of Defence Forces after Chiwenga but because he was a G40 this didn’t happen when he died he was a Leutenant General he was also retired from his position and appointed Ambassador in Mozambique. Nyikayaramba died in Harare.
The late SB was a Leutenant General, he was resigned and made Minister of Foreign Affairs. Another example is Engelbert Rugeje who was retired from the army and put in Politburo for ZANU PF. Director of state residences Colonel Joseph Mhakayakoro was resigned from army and made Acting Perm Sec of Ministry of local government in 2019, in 2013 he was Principal Secretary for Public works, and then appointed Director of state residences. Mhakayakora was then moved to be Principal Director in the Ministry of Local government and this is still his current position. Major Mutambudzi was Director in the Public Works Ministry , he too had been resigned from the army,.
A Thorough research into the specific sections of the Zimbabwe Constitution (particularly those related to presidential powers, the Defence Forces, and the removal/retirement of military personnel) is important.
When Matatnga was retired from police post as Head of Police there was a lot of debate about retiring him and replacing him with Mutamba who is a year older than him, this doesn’t or didn’t not make sense but it wasn’t contested.
Relevant sections of the Defence Forces Act [Chapter 11:02] detail the procedures for the retirement or removal of army generals. The application of these legal provisions to the case of General Sanyatwe’s retirement and appointment further sheds light.
Zimbabweans can carefully search for potential inconsistencies or contradictions between the constitutional provisions, the Defence Forces Act, and the actions taken by the President.
To understand the current situation there is need to delve into the specifics of the law to provide a well-reasoned conclusion on whether the Constitution and Defence Forces Acts are self-contradictory in this particular instance.
6Any Zimbabwean act which has powers more than the Constitution of Zimbabwe is considered null and void, this is stated in the Constitution an example is POSA Public Order Security act which was repealed between 2019 and 2020 and replaced by Public Order Management Act.
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