By Desire Tshuma
HARARE — President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appointed retired army commander General Philip Valerio Sibanda to the ZANU PF Politburo, six months after he stepped down as head of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.
The appointment was announced today on 11 May 2026 by the party’s Department of Information and Publicity by Secretary for Information and Publicity Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa.
According to the statement, Mnangagwa made the appointment in his capacity as ZANU PF First Secretary and President of Zimbabwe, acting under Article 9, Section 65, read with Section 67 of the ZANU PF Constitution.
Gen. Sibanda retired from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces on 21 November 2025. Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Martin Rushwaya said at the time that the appointment of Lt Gen Emmanuel Matatu as the new ZDF Commander “follows the retirement of outgoing Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, General Philip Valerio Sibanda”.
Sibanda handed over command to Matatu on 21 November 2025 at a ceremony at Charles Gumbo Barracks. He had served as ZDF Commander since 18 December 2017, after taking over from Gen Constantino Chiwenga.
The Politburo is ZANU PF’s highest organ between congresses and oversees policy and strategy. Sibanda’s move into the party’s top decision-making body comes as ZANU PF continues to adjust its leadership structures ahead of the 2028 general elections.
The statement gave no reason for the timing of the appointment. Mutsvangwa signed off with the traditional “Comradely” salutation.
Sibanda’s appointment to the Politburo had been flagged before. In 2023 Mnangagwa briefly appointed him to the body before reversing the decision following public backlash, with the move scheduled for review at the end of his military tenure.