Opposition activists in Zimbabwe have said they will launch a fresh campaign to bring democratic reforms to the impoverished southern African country after the new president announced a fresh cabinet with key roles for veterans of the ruling Zanu-PF party and senior soldiers but no posts for the opposition.



Emmerson Mnangagwa took power after a military takeover and popular protests ousted Robert Mugabe last week, and many had hoped the 75-year-old would give leading opposition politicians significant roles in an “inclusive” government in line with his promises to reach out to all “patriotic Zimbabweans” and build a “full democracy”.

Opposition figures and activists reacted strongly to the announcement. Tendai Biti, a former finance minister and opposition politician, called the move a betrayal.

“We are now dealing with a junta. We have the answer to if the coup was done to give Zimbabwe a chance or to protect the private interests of certain individuals and the ruling party,” Biti said.

“Now we the citizens have to regroup and [fight] for a normal elected political authority.”

Doug Coltart, a human rights activist, said the new cabinet did not represent a new Zimbabwe but “the entrenchment of the old failed political elite”.

Zimbabwe, you are right to feel betrayed. On 18 November, we ALL came out on the streets, united as a people around a common vision of a new Zimbabwe. This Cabinet does not represent a new Zimbabwe but the entrenchment of the old failed political elite. Aluta continua! pic.twitter.com/hf5LTpq5u3 — Doug Coltart ✊🏽🇿🇼 (@DougColtart) November 30, 2017

“It’s very concerning. It’s a very hardline … government. Very little changes for the struggle that is ongoing to open up political space,” he said.

“A lot of people feel a lot more concerned this morning than they ever felt under the Mugabe regime.”

Mnangagwa’s appointment of party loyalists and the military – as well as leaders of the powerful war veterans – will concern international observers hoping for widespread reforms after 37 years of Mugabe’s autocratic rule.

It will also complicate negotiations for the massive financial aid Zimbabwe needs to repair the damage done to the once-thriving economy over recent decades.

The British government, which wants to engage in southern Africa through its former colony, will be particularly disappointed.

Quick Guide Zimbabwe's new cabinet: key members Show Perence Shiri Shiri (pictured above) holds the rank equivalent to general in the Zimbabwean air force, and is the new minister of lands and agriculture, a vital job following the controversial seizure of land from white farmers nearly two decades ago. Shiri, 62, is feared and loathed by many Zimbabweans as the former commander of the North Korean-trained "Fifth Brigade" that played a central role in massacres in southern Zimbabwe shortly after Mugabe took power in 1980 and in which an estimated 20,000 people were killed. Patrick Chinamasa The 70-year-old becomes Zimbabwe's new finance minister and one of a number of Mugabe-era officials kept on or reappointed to cabinet. A trained lawyer, Chinamasa was finance minister in the last years of Mugabe’s rule before he was shifted to the new ministry of cybersecurity. During his time in charge, the economy stagnated, with a lack of exports causing acute dollar shortages that crippled the financial system and led to long queues outside banks. Chris Mutsvangwa The leader of the powerful war veterans has been appointed information minister. A key backroom player, the 62-year-old former guerrilla fighter took on a more public role during the recent political crisis, spearheading mass protests aimed at helping to force Mugabe out of office. Photograph: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP

Hours before the cabinet announcement, the British foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, said the UK could take steps to stabilise Zimbabwe’s currency system and extend a loan to help it clear World Bank and African Development Bank debts, but such support depended on “democratic progress”.

Zimbabwe is due to hold elections next year.

The new cabinet includes controversial figures such as Obert Mpofu, a wealthy Zanu-PF veteran, and Patrick Chinamasa, a former finance minister who has been reappointed to his former post.

Piers Pigou, a Johannesburg-based analyst at International Crisis Group, said: “It does not bode well, certainly. Those who were drinking the kool aid that this was a new broom will have to temper their enthusiasm for the moment. We will have to wait and see what the [new ministers] actually do but it does not bode well.”

The new cabinet underlines how the end of Mugabe’s rule was driven by a redistribution of power and patronage within the party and its allies within the military, not by popular calls for reform and economic regeneration.

Timeline Zimbabwe timeline: the week that led to Mugabe's detention Show Mugabe fires vice president Robert Mugabe fires his powerful vice-president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, clearing the way for his wife, Grace, to succeed him as leader of Zimbabwe. Grace had accused 75-year-old Mnangagwa, a former intelligence chief, of being the “root cause of factionalism” in the ruling Zanu-PF party. Mnangagwa defiant Mnangagwa reportedly flees to South Africa, but vows to return to Zimbabwe to lead party members. The party "is not personal property for you and your wife to do as you please," Mnangagwa tells Mugabe in an angry five-page statement. Army chief issues warning Zimbabwe’s army chief demands a halt to the purge in Zanu-PF, and warns that the military could intervene. “We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in,” General Constantino Chiwenga told a media conference attended by about 90 senior army officers. Army denies coup A convoy of tanks is seen moving on the outskirts of the Zimbabwean capital but the military denies a coup. In an overnight declaration on state television, they say Mugabe is safe and they are "only targeting criminals around him". Mugabe detained Military vehicles take control of the streets of Harare in the early hours. South Africa says Mugabe has told its president, Jacob Zuma, by telephone that he is under house arrest but is "fine".

The trigger for the move against Mugabe by the armed forces was the firing of Mnangagwa on 6 November at the behest of the 93-year-old dictator’s wife, Grace, and her supporters within Zanu-PF.



The party was split by a bitter battle over the succession to Mugabe. With Mnangagwa forced to flee overseas, Grace Mugabe, 52, appeared to have a firm grasp on power. She is now under house arrest in the sprawling residence she shares with her husband in Borrowdale, an upscale neighbourhood of Harare, but is covered by an immunity deal negotiated with military authorities.

Mnangagwa’s allies outside the party have been rewarded for their support. Maj Gen Sibusiso Moyo, who read a statement announcing the military takeover on national television on the night the armed forces took power, becomes foreign minister. Perence Shiri, a senior air force officer accused of gross human rights violations in the early 1980s, will be land minister.

Chris Mutsvangwa, who leads the war veterans and played a key role in mobilising protests against Mugabe, takes charge of the information ministry.

The announcement comes after a series of court judgments sent mixed signals. Former associates of Mugabe have been hit with fraud charges and are in custody, but one well-known democracy activist was acquitted on Thursday of charges of subversion.

Evan Mawarire’s #ThisFlag movement last year organised the biggest demonstrations in a decade against Mugabe over a deteriorating economy, cash shortages and accusations of government corruption.

He was arrested in September and faced up to 20 years in jail if convicted.

My fellow citizens it is my absolute pleasure to inform you that I have been acquitted of all charges. Thank you for your prayers and support. Let’s joing hands in building a better Zimbabwe #ThisFlag pic.twitter.com/ohFsOfnstk — #ThisFlag E Mawarire (@PastorEvanLive) November 29, 2017

But on Thursday a high court judge upheld the confiscation of computers taken by police from a satirical news programme’s Harare headquarters on the day of the military takeover.

A legal bid by Magamba TV to challenge the constitutional validity of the search and seizure was rejected.

An employee of the network, which produces an immensely popular weekly online political comedy show, has been accused of subversion and will face a court hearing next week.

Samm Farai Monro, the network’s creative director and one of Zimbabwe’s best known comedians, said: “That these baseless and trumped-up charges are still sticking is a very worrying sign about how the new government views freedom of expression.

“We hope it does not signify the beginning of a clampdown on freedom of expression and social media users ahead of elections next year.”