Mbizo community theatre organisation in zimbabwe

19/05/2026

19/05/2026

This is Jacob Mudenda, the current Speaker of Parliament in Zimbabwe and Secretary General of the ruling ZANU PF party

Mudenda is the longest serving Speaker of Parliament in Zimbabwean history. He has been in office since 2013, that's 13 years. He is also the only Speaker to serve more than two terms.

The only person who comes close to him is Didymus Mutasa, who served two terms from 1980 to 1990

For context, here is the full list of Zimbabwean Speakers since independence

■ Didymus Mutasa - 1980 to 1990
■ Nolan Makombe - 1990 to 1995
■ Cyril Ndebele - 1995 to 2000
■ Emmerson Mnangagwa - 2000 to 2005
■ John Landa Nkomo - 2005 to 2008
■ Lovemore Moyo - 2008 to 2013
■ Jacob Mudenda - 2013 - present

As I mentioned, Mudenda is also the Secretary General of ZANU PF. That position makes him number 4 in charge in ZANU PF.

▪️Number one is the President
▪️Number 2 are the two Vice Presidents who occupy the same office and are therefore at the same level
▪️Number 3 is the Chairperson, Opah Muchinguri
▪️Number 4 is Jacob Mudenda, as Secretary General

The position of Secretary General in ZANU PF has been held by only four people namely

▪️ Robert Mugabe
▪️ Edgar Tekere
▪️ Obert Mpofu
▪️ Jacob Mudenda

Between Edgar Tekere and Obert Mpofu, there was a long period when the Secretary General post was called Secretary for Administration. This was a power move by Mugabe to tame the influence of that office. Today the SG position is not as powerful as it used to be under Tekere and Mugabe.

💥The rise of Mudenda👇

Jacob Mudenda is a lawyer by profession. He joined active politics at independence and quickly rose through the ranks of ZANU PF, eventually becoming Provincial Administrator

In 1985, he was appointed Governor of Matabeleland North. He held that position until April 1990, when he had to resign after being implicated in the Willowgate car scandal. In that scandal, senior officials were accused of buying government vehicles cheaply and reselling them at huge profits.

After stepping down, Mudenda returned to practicing law and kept a lower profile for many years.

His major political comeback came in 2013, when he was elected Speaker of the National Assembly. He has held that role continuously since then, making him the longest-serving Speaker of Parliament in Zimbabwe’s history

TAFFY THEMAN

18/05/2026

This is Didymus Mutasa, Zimbabwe’s first post-independence Speaker of Parliament.

At one time, he was one of the most powerful politicians in Zimbabwe, serving as Minister of State Security, where he oversaw the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO). Within ZANU PF, he also served as Secretary for Administration, a position now known as Secretary General, currently held by Jacob Mudenda.

In February 2015, Didymus Mutasa was expelled from ZANU PF together with his nephew, Temba "Bhuru" Mliswa for "undermining the party and its leadership"

This followed serious internal factional clashes in ZANU PF which resulted in Mutasa having a fallout with Robert Mugabe.

At the time, ZANU PF had two main factions. One faction supported Emmerson Mnangagwa, while the other supported Joyce Mujuru. Both sides accused each other of trying to destroy the party from within.

The fights became very bitter. At one point, Mutasa said those destroying the party from inside were like weevils and needed to be destroyed using a pesticide called Gamatox. He was referring to people linked to Mnangagwa’s faction.

That is how Mujuru’s faction later got the nickname “Gamatox,” since Mutasa was one of the main leaders in her faction. Mnangagwa’s faction was jokingly called “Team Weevils” or “Team Zvipfukuto.”

Mugabe eventually sided with Mnangagwa’s faction. Most senior leaders linked to Mujuru were either fired or expelled from ZANU PF.

Mujuru herself was first removed as Vice President in December 2014 and later expelled from the party in April 2015. That is how Emmerson Mnangagwa became Vice President. He was appointed to replace the fired Joice Mujuru.

In the lead up to the 2014 congress, Didymus Mutasa failed to secure re-election into the party’s Central Committee. He was also removed from government during a cabinet reshuffle carried out by Mugabe in December 2014.

So December 2014 was a very bad period for Didymus Mutasa. Within that month, he lost his senior position in ZANU PF, lost his government position, and then just two months later, he was expelled from the party altogether.

After being expelled from ZANU PF, Mutasa and Joice Mujuru together with Rugare Gumbo, formed a new political party called Zimbabwe People First.

However, Mutasa later fell out with Mujuru and slowly disappeared from mainstream politics to the point where many people forgot about him politically.

He was recently readmitted into ZANU PF and now sits in the party’s Elders Council.

TAFFY THEMAN