By Agencies
Retired Lieutenant-General Engelbert Rugeje recently refused a diplomatic posting to Maputo, Mozambique, by President Emmerson Mnangagwa for political, security and economic reasons following the death of ambassador Victor Matematanda.
Rugeje, a Zanu PF politburo member and Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga key ally, was supposed to replace Matemadanda, a Mnangagwa loyalist, who died in June.
Matemadanda was serving as Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Mozambique and Eswatini.
Rugeje was lined up by Mnangagwa to replace him.
However, sources say he refused to take the post mainly for political reasons.
Mnangagwa has been purging the army and sending Chiwenga’s allies to diplomatic “exile” to weaken his rival and his faction.
The outspoken Rugeje was one of those who targeted early.
After the November 2017 coup that ousted the late former president Robert Mugabe and installed Mnangagwa in power, Rugeje was quickly removed from the army and made Zanu PF national commissar, a position known to be a political graveyard.
He was commissar from December 2017 to June 2019.
Chiwenga used his military leverage at the time to make him commissar as Mnangagwa wanted Matemadanda.
After his removal, Mnangagwa finally got his way and appointed Matemadanda from June 2019 to June 2021.
After that he was reassigned to a diplomatic role as ambassador to Mozambique.
Patrick Chinamasa, the current party Treasurer, was appointed as acting political commissar.
After sometime, Mike Bimha came in as commissar from December 2021 to May 2024.
Then came the incumbent Munyaradzi Machacha.
When he was removed, Rugeje was promised to be appointed Zimbabwe National Defence University Vice-Chancellor.
That did not happen.
Rugeje was also denied the opportunity to become Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) commander when Lieutenant-General Edzai Chimonyo died in July 2021.
Instead retired Lieutenant-General David Sigauke was appointed ZNA commander from from July 2021 to October 2023.
Anseelem Sanyatwe, a Chiwenga pillar, came in October 2023 and served until March last year.
In all this, Rugeje, who has survived shooting and poisoning incidents linked to Mnangagwa’s succession infighting, became sidelined and isolated.
But after Matemadanda’s death, he was reportedly approached to be ambassador in Maputo and Mbabane, but he refused.
Apart from political reasons, Rugeje is said to be worried about his security given the mysterious deaths of previous ambassadors to Maputo, Matemadanda and the late retired Lieutenant-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, who died in February 2021
Nyikayaramba was among a number of army commanders who were retired and sent to diplomatic service by Mnangagwa in February 2019 amid a wave of purges to weaken Chiwenga and his other political and military rivals.
Some of the changes happened when Chiwenga was experiencing critical health problems in 2019 as he was shuttling between Harare and South African hospitals, and later China.
Mnangagwa has systematically purged army commanders loyal to Chiwenga to consolidate power and control of the levers of the state machinery.
The latest victim of that is Military Intelligence Directorate commander retired Lieutenant-General Thomas Moyo.
Mnangagwa and Chiwenga worked together to remove Mugabe.
Mnangagwa took the presidency, and Chiwenga became the first vice-president.
An intense political rivalry soon began over who would rule next. Mnangagwa slowly worked to remove the army’s heavy influence from day-to-day politics and Chiwenga from active roles such as Defence minister and later Health minister.
Chiwenga remains vice-president, but his state power is now mostly ceremonial.
Insiders say Rugeje also refused to to go Maputo because “there is no money there”.
“Rugeje says he is doing some consultancy work now and is earning some reasonable amounts, while living a decent lifestyle, but being an ambassador is a route to poverty,” a source said.
Attempts to call Foreign Affairs and Rugeje were unsuccessful.
-B24
