Following his reelection, President Emmerson Mnangagwa formed a new cabinet and named David Kudakwashe Mnangagwa as the deputy finance minister. This decision drew criticism on Monday.
Nepotism in the government has come under scrutiny as a result of the action.
The president’s nephew, Tongai Mafidhi Mnangagwa, was also nominated deputy minister of tourism and hospitality. David Mnangagwa, 34, will support Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube in this role. According to local media, this choice is a part of the freshly assembled cabinet, which includes 26 ministries.
President Mnangagwa’s cabinet was criticised by Fadzayi Mahere of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), who called it “indefensible.” She emphasized her worries about the legitimacy, brutality, nepotism, ineptitude, and moral dilemmas of the regime.
President Mnangagwa also selected Christopher and Monica Mutsvangwa as ministers, which caused some controversy. While Monica Mutsvangwa is the new minister of Women’s Affairs and SMEs, Christopher Mutsvangwa will serve as the new minister of Veterans of Liberation.
David Mnangagwa, a recent University of Zimbabwe law graduate, was elected to parliament from the Midlands province using the Zanu PF party list’s youth quota. He is one of President Mnangagwa’s allegedly close to twenty-dozen kids.
The Hunyani constituency’s Zanu PF representative is Tongai Mnangagwa. President Mnangagwa’s younger brother, David Mnangagwa, was his late father.
According to reports, President Mnangagwa is also mulling around giving another of his sons, Emmerson Junior, a position in his administration. According to sources, Emmerson Junior has already attended the president’s meetings with international investors, and there are plans to formally establish his position as an adviser or director.
Following President Mnangagwa’s reelection amid allegations of electoral fraud, this topic has surfaced. His critics claim that by appointing members of his family to important government positions, he is adding to the perception of dynastic politics throughout Africa.
The appointment of President Denis Sassou-Nguesso’s son Denis-Christel as a cabinet minister in Congo-Brazzaville stoked rumours of dynastic succession.
While President Ali Bongo Ondimba succeeded his father Omar Bongo, who governed for decades in Gabon, President Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea has had his son Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue serve as vice president.
Ange Kagame, the daughter of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, was given a significant position in his administration, adding to the discussion about political dynasties on the continent.
