Mnangagwa picks Monica Mavhunga as new war veterans minister

President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Monday named Mashonaland Central senator Monica Mavhunga as the new minister for veterans of the liberation struggle affairs after Christopher Mutsvangwa was sacked last month.

Chief cabinet secretary Martin Rushwaya said Mavhunga's appointment was with immediate effect.

The 63-year-old deputised Mutsvangwa before his sacking following a fallout with Mnangagwa. Mutsvangwa defied a directive by Mnangagwa to choose between being a minister and being chairman of the war veterans association. He wanted to keep both roles.

Mavhunga, a former guerilla in Zimbabwe's 1970s war of independence, is a former minister of state for Mashonaland Central.