Senate expands to 90 members as 10 Presidential appointees take oath

Farirai Machivenyika and Nyore Madzianike Zimpapers Writers

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa yesterday officially gazetted the appointment of 10 new Senators, who were subsequently sworn in before the Senate in line with the provisions of Constitutional Amendment Act No. 3, which was signed into law in July.

The amendment expands the Senate from 80 to 90 members and grants the President authority to appoint an additional 10 Senators with the concurrence of the National Assembly. The appointments were published under General Notice 1467A of 2026 in an Extraordinary Government Gazette issued by Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr Martin Rushwaya.

“It is hereby notified that His Excellency the President, after consultations with the National Assembly, has, in terms of section 120(1)(e) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, appointed the persons specified in the Schedule as Senators of the 10th Parliament of Zimbabwe with effect from the date of appointment,” Dr Rushwaya said.

The newly appointed Senators took their oaths of office yesterday before the Clerk of Parliament, Mr Kennedy Chokuda.

Those sworn in were Zanu PF Bulawayo Provincial chairman Jabulani Sibanda, Mary Mliswa, Nokuthula Matsikenyere, Kudakwashe Tagwirei, Godwills Masimirembwa, Lucy Chitaga, Retired Major-General Gibson Mashingaidze, Makhosini Hlongwane, Brilliant Dube and Irene Mutumbwa.

Cde Sibanda is a former chairman of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, a post he held for more than a decade. Mliswa is a former Hurungwe West legislator who made history as the first woman to chair a Zanu PF provincial structure after winning the party’s Mashonaland West chairmanship.

Matsikenyere previously served as Minister of State for Manicaland Province, while Tagwirei is a prominent businessman who was recently co-opted into the Zanu PF Central Committee.

Among the other appointees is Zanu PF Harare Provincial chairman Retired Major-General Mashingaidze, a liberation war veteran and former senior officer in the Zimbabwe National Army.

Hlongwane is a former Zanu PF MP for Mberengwa East who also served as Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, while Dube is a former senior member of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).

Mutumbwa and Chitaga have also been actively involved in public and political affairs prior to their appointments.

Speaking in separate interviews after taking their oaths, some of the newly appointed Senators expressed gratitude to President Mnangagwa and outlined the contributions they hope to make in the Upper House.

Tagwirei said he intended to draw on his business background to contribute to national economic development through parliamentary debate.

“Firstly, I would like to thank His Excellency the President, Comrade Mnangagwa, for appointing me as a Senator when I least expected it. And secondly, I would like to say I come from the business fraternity and my expectation, or the expectation, obviously, is that from that I use my expertise in the House.

“From that, I hope to bring that expertise into the Senate, so that we can grow the economy in line with Vision 2030 that we can be able to assist business, to be able to change the way that we do business, or to improve the way we do business from the Senate, so that we can all be successful,” he said.

Mutumbwa, a social worker, said she hoped to use her experience in community work to support ongoing efforts to combat drug and substance abuse.

“I am so grateful and I have been working for years with some members of Senate. There are a lot of issues that have been happening, especially with issues to do with drug abuse. I just hope and trust that I am going to work with others to continue creating awareness, workshops and meeting people in communities targeting merging generations,” she said.

Hlongwane said he was honoured by the appointment and looked forward to contributing to national development through informed debate.

“I am deeply and profoundly appreciative of the President having appointed me into the Senate. I have competences in areas of development policy, areas in media and development communication and will use that to enrich debate in Senate,” he said.

Masimirembwa said his legal expertise would guide his contribution to the legislative process.

“Having been lecturing law, my primary interest is in law development and research and you know the purpose of Parliament is to make law for the good governance of the country. So, I think His Excellency’s expectation will be to transform our Vision 2030 into legal instruments that will ensure that we achieve the middle-income society target by 2030,” he said.

Mliswa said her appointment came with a significant responsibility to champion issues affecting communities across the country.

“First of all, I really appreciate the appointment by His Excellency, President Mnangagwa, appointing me to the Senate, which of course brings a lot of responsibility, considering that we have to contribute to issues that are affecting people at the grassroots level and also being able to provide ideas and solutions and how some of the issues are supposed to be dealt with.

“I’m happy that I have a very vast experience now in issues of local governance, so even the issues that are affecting the people at the grassroots are things that I’m really passionate about because at the end of the day, we’re supposed to be seen to be pushing such agendas and as well as the issues of environment and wildlife, things that I’m really passionate about considering that our country has a lot of that,” she said.

The appointments mark the first expansion of the Senate under Constitutional Amendment Act No. 3 and bring the Upper House to its new complement of 90 members.