\n<\/p>\n
By A\u00a0Correspondent-President\u00a0Emmerson Mnangagwa\u00a0has fired Central Intelligence\u00a0Organisation\u00a0(CIO) Director-General\u00a0Fulton Mangwanya, replacing him with seasoned diplomat\u00a0Paul Chikawa\u00a0as Director-General in the President\u2019s Department.<\/p>\n
Chikawa, who previously served as Zimbabwe\u2019s ambassador to Cuba and has held diplomatic postings in China, now assumes a critical role at the heart of the country\u2019s intelligence establishment.<\/p>\n
The shake-up comes as Mnangagwa continues to recalibrate key state institutions, particularly those linked to security and governance. Over the years, such changes have often\u00a0been interpreted\u00a0by political analysts as part of broader efforts to consolidate power within the executive.<\/p>\n
In a related development, Mnangagwa has also restructured the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water\u00a0andRural Development, splitting it into two separate portfolios with immediate effect.\u00a0The new entities are the Ministry of Lands and Rural Development, now headed by\u00a0Honourable\u00a0Vangelis Haritatos, and the Ministry of Agriculture,\u00a0Mechanisation\u00a0and Water Resources Development, led by Dr Anxious Masuka.<\/p>\n
Additionally, Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission chairperson\u00a0Jessie Majome\u00a0has\u00a0been reassigned\u00a0to serve as a commissioner in the Public Service Commission.<\/p>\n
The latest developments fit into a long-standing pattern in Mnangagwa\u2019s political career, which stretches back to Zimbabwe\u2019s independence in 1980. A liberation war veteran and long-time ally of former president\u00a0Robert Mugabe, Mnangagwa has historically occupied strategic positions across the security, justice, and intelligence sectors.<\/p>\n
During the early years of independence, he served as Minister of State Security, overseeing intelligence structures\u00a0at a time when\u00a0the government\u00a0was consolidating\u00a0control.\u00a0His political trajectory has often\u00a0been marked\u00a0by his proximity to the military and security establishment, which has remained a key pillar of his influence.<\/p>\n
Mnangagwa\u2019s rise to the presidency in 2017 followed a dramatic fallout with Mugabe, culminating in a military-assisted transition that removed the long-time ruler from power. Since then, observers say Mnangagwa has continued to strategically position loyalists within critical institutions, while sidelining perceived rivals within both the ruling party and state apparatus.<\/p>\n
While the government typically presents such changes as routine administrative adjustments aimed at improving efficiency, critics argue they reflect an enduring pattern of internal purges and realignments within Zimbabwe\u2019s political and security landscape.<\/p>\n
The latest appointments and reassignments take effect immediately.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t<\/p>\n
<\/p><\/div>\n
\n