The Zimbabwean president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, recently returned to power after a disputed election, has been accused by the opposition of attempting to create a family dynasty after appointing his son as deputy finance minister barely a week on from conferring his wife with an honorary doctorate.
Announcing his new cabinet on Monday, Mnangagwa said one of his younger sons, David Kudakwashe Mnangagwa, would be second in charge at the Treasury, while appointing a nephew, Tongai, as deputy minister in the tourism minstry.
David Kudakwashe Mnangagwa, who has no experience in government, is an actuary who previously sat on the board of a bank. He will deputise for Mhuli Ncube, who was reappointed after losing his parliamentary seat in last month’s polls.
David Kudakwashe Mnangagwa, 34, who also graduated with a law degree last week at the University of Zimbabwe, came into parliament through a youth quota designed to increase young people’s representation. Members are handpicked by their party.
Irate Zimbabweans and the opposition condemned the appointments on social media, saying Emmerson Mnangagwa was creating a family dynasty after winning a disputed election on 23 August.
The opposition described the result as a “gigantic” fraud, while the Southern African Development Community and EU observer missions said the elections fell short of international standards.
Opposition MP Fadzayi Mahere, accused Mnangagwa of nepotism. “[The] cabinet announcements demonstrate beyond any doubt that he’s thrown out any pretence of reform or adherence to good governance out of the window,” Mahere said on X, formerly Twitter.
Citizens Coalition for Change said in a statement that the appointment of Mnangagwa’s son was “worrying”.
The Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin’ono commented: “Robert Mugabe must be laughing hard at us! The joke is really on us citizens.”
Mnangagwa has been criticised, too, for announcing a bloated cabinet, increasing ministers from 22 to 26. Political analysts say the 80-year-old is accommodating close family members and allies to consolidate power in his second and final term.
Prosper Chitambara, an economic analyst, said: “Some analysts have argued that we could do with less. This means that the bigger the cabinet size, the more the public spending that is associated with a big cabinet.”
Mnangagwa has also drawn widespread criticism for reappointing underperforming ministers, such as the former Olympic gold medalist Kirsty Coventry. Under Coventry, Zimbabwe was banned by Fifa, the football governing body, while the country’s stadiums were condemned for failing to meet standards.
The president said people who were not happy with his choice of ministers should appoint their own. “I have reappointed [Coventry] because l am happy with her performance. Whoever was not impressed by her can appoint someone else when they become president,” Mnangagwa told journalists.
The 80-year-old also reappointed Kembo Mohadi as his second deputy. Mohadi had been forced to resign two years ago after a sexual scandal.
