By Staff Reporter
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has appointed Zanu PF Politburo secretary for security, Lovemore Matuke, as Minister of State for National Security, a position which oversees the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).
Before his latest posting, Matuke was Minister of State for Presidential Affairs in the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC).
In a statement, Chief Secretary in the OPC, Martin Rushwaya announced Matuke’s latest deployment.
“In terms of section 104 subsection (1) as read with section 225 of the Constitution, His Excellency, the President, Cde Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa has appointed Hon. Lovemore Matuke, Senator as the Minister of State for National Security with immediate effect,” said Rushwaya.
The appointment comes after CCC MP Agency Gumbo told Parliament that Mnangagwa was in breach of the Constitution for failing to select a minister to oversee the national intelligence service.
The State Security Department, which was a fully-fledged ministry before, has been vacant since the dismissal of Owen ‘Mudha’ Ncube in January 2022 for “conduct that was deemed inappropriate for a government minister”.
Ncube had allegedly defied Mnangagwa to stop terrorizing Midlands where he unleashed violence as internecine infighting rocked the ruling party amid reports he wanted to grab the provincial chairman post.
Meanwhile, Mnangagwa has also appointed Rossy Mpofu as special advisor on disability issues in the OPC while Raymore Machingura has landed the executive director post responsible for presidential and national scholarships in the OPC.
Both appointments are with immediate effect.
