Sydney Sekeramayi

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The Hon. Dr. Sydney Serkeramayi MP
Sydney Sekeramayi
Incumbent
Assumed office 
2001
President Robert Mugabe
Preceded by Moven Mahachi
Born March 30, 1944
Nationality Flag of Zimbabwe Zimbabwean
Political party Zanu-PF

Dr. Sydney Tigere Sekeramayi (born March 30, 1944[1]) is a Zimbabwean politician who has served as a minister in the Cabinet since independence in 1980. He has been Minister of Defence since 2001. During the Rhodesian Bush War he served as the Zimbabwe African National Union's representative in Sweden. After the war he served as the Minister of National Security, Deputy Secretary of Health Minister for National Security, and Minister for Transport and Welfare.[2][3][4][5][6]

In Rhodesia his school expelled him. He moved to Czechoslovakia to study on an NDP scholarship with help from Rupiah Banda, the International Secretary of the Zambia' Students Union. Banda established contact between Sekeramayi and the NIB. In June 1964 he moved from Czechoslovakia to Lund, Sweden, on an NIB scholarship. He studied genetics at the University of Lund, became ZANU's representative in Sweden, and then attended medical school.[3] In Lund he studied with Alexander Chikwanda of the United National Independence Party of Zambia.[7]

In 1969 Sekeramayi requested assistance from SIDA in his function as Secretary-General of the Zimbabwe Students' Union in Europe. He coordinated Herbert Chitepo and Richard Grove's visits to Sweden.[3]

In 1976 he moved to Mozambique.[3]

In the 1980s he participated in the Gukurahundi massacres.[8]

In 2001 Defense Minister Moven Mahachi died in a car crash and Sekeramayi became the new Defense Minister.[5] In 2005 William Mervin Gumede mentioned Sekeramayi as one of several leading politicians who may succeed Mugabe as President of Zimbabwe because of their support among the military.[9]

He is considered a close ally of Emmerson Mnangagwa, formerly the Speaker of Parliament,[5] and Joyce Mujuru.[10]

Sekeramayi won the House of Assembly seat from Marondera East constituency, in Mashonaland East Province, as the ZANU-PF candidate in the March 2005 parliamentary election. According to official results he defeated Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) candidate Iain Kay with 19,912 votes against Kay's 10,066 votes; this victory was questioned on the grounds that the total number of votes was said to exceed voter turnout.[11]

In the ZANU-PF primaries for the March 2008 parliamentary election, Sekeramayi again sought the party's nomination as its candidate for the House of Assembly seat from Marondera East, but was defeated.[12][13] He was instead nominated as ZANU-PF's candidate for the Senate from Marondera-Hwedza in Mashonaland East.[14] Sekeramayi won this seat according to official results, receiving 24,571 votes against 17,370 for Jane Chifamba of the MDC-Tsvangirai faction and 6,994 for Molai Penelope of the MDC-Mutambara faction.[15]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Page at Zimbabwean Parliament website.
  2. ^ Zimbabwe: Reports of failed coup in Zimbabwe, June 11, 2007. AllAfrica
  3. ^ a b c d Sellström, Tor. Liberation in Southern Africa: Regional and Swedish voices: Interviews from Angola, Mozambique..., 2002. Nordiska Afrikainstitutet. Page 226-230.
  4. ^ Dashwood, Hevina Smith. Zimbabwe: The Political Economy of Transformation, 2000. Page 105.
  5. ^ a b c Hill, Geoff. The Battle for Zimbabwe: The Final Countdown, 2003. Page 293.
  6. ^ Great Britain Foreign and Commonwealth Office. A Year Book of the Commonwealth, 1986. Page 426.
  7. ^ Sellstr̀eom, Tor. Sweden and National Liberation in Southern Africa, 2002. Page 323.
  8. ^ Patrick Burnett and Firoze Madatally Manji. African Voices on Development and Social Justice: Editorials from Pambazuka News 2004, 2005. Page 227.
  9. ^ Gumede, William Mervin. Thabo Mbeki And The Battle For The Soul Of The ANC, 2005. Page 193.
  10. ^ Situation Report: Future power plays in Zimbabwe Institute for Security Studies
  11. ^ David Blair, "Mugabe 'conjures up' winning votes", Daily Telegraph (United Kingdom), April 8, 2005.
  12. ^ Spiwe Ncube, "Zanu (PF) heavyweights lose primary polls", zimdaily.com, February 6, 2008.
  13. ^ Lebo Nkatazo, "Makoni humiliated as Zanu PF rejects his bid for MP", newzimbabwe.com, February 5, 2008.
  14. ^ "Zimbabwe: Zanu-PF Names Poll Candidates", The Herald (allAfrica.com), February 15, 2008.
  15. ^ "Zimbabwe senate election results", newzimbabwe.com.


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