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OpenMnangagwa Extends General Sibanda's Term As ZDF Commander
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has extended the term of Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) Commander General Philip Valerio Sibanda by one year.
General Sibanda, who reached the retirement age of 70 last month, will now serve until November 23, 2025.
The extension, effective from December 24, 2024, was announced in the Government Gazette on January 3, 2025, by Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Martin Rushwaya. Reads General Notice 15 of 2025:
Extension of Term of the Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces
IT is hereby notified that His Excellency the President has, in terms of proviso (i) to the Defence (Regular Force) (Officers) Regulations, 1988, published in Statutory Instrument 152 of 1988, extended the appointment of General Philip Valerio Sibanda as Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces with effect from the 24th December, 2024 to the 23rd November, 2025.
ZimLive reported sources as saying the extension was against President Mnangagwa’s wishes, as General Sibanda reportedly resisted his retirement bid last week.
The extension came just a week after Mnangagwa retired Police Commissioner General Godwin Matanga and replaced him with Stephen Mutamba.
Mnangagwa also removed Central Intelligence Organisation Director-General Isaac Moyo, appointing former Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority Director-General Fulton Mangwanya in his place.
Prominent lawyer Advocate Thabani Mpofu described the extension of Sibanda’s tenure as “flawed” and an “absurdity.”
He argued that by reaching the age of 70, Sibanda was automatically retired “by operation of law.” Mpofu wrote on X:
A term that has already expired cannot be extended. That’s why there are no oxygen canisters at the cemetery.
General Sibanda has reached the mandatory retirement age of 70. He cannot be retired and in active service at the same time. It is one thing to recycle dead wood, it is quite another to plant a dead log.
Sibanda succeeded Vice President Constantino Chiwenga as Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) following the military coup that toppled the late Robert Mugabe in 2017.
Chiwenga, a key figure in the coup, was appointed Vice President, while Sibanda took over the leadership of the ZDF.
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