Dr. Sydney Tigere Sekeramayi

Minister of State Security

Date of Birth: 30/03/1944
Place of Birth: Chihota

Education: Genetics, Czechoslovakia; Studied Medicine, University of Lund, Sweden, 1964-.

Career: Secretary for Scandinavian Affairs, Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), 1966; General Secretary, Zimbabwe Students Union in Europe, 1967-1968; President, Zimbabwe Students Union in Europe, 1971; Official ZANU representative in Scandinavia, 1971; Department of Surgery, Teaching Hospital of the University of Zambia, 1975; Surgeon, UK, 1976; Joined the ZANU medical team, Mozambique, 1977; Deputy Secretary for Health, Zimbabwe, 1977; Member of Parliament, Mashonaland Central, 1980; Minister of Lands, Resettlement and Rural Development, 1980-81; Minister of State for Defence, 1982-84; Minister of Health, 1984-88; Minister of State for National Security, 1988-2000;  Minister of Mines, 2000-01 Minister of Defence, 2001-09; Minister of State Security, 2009 to date.

Commentary: Solomon Mujuru, an ethnic Shona-Zezuru, was one of the first students to be sponsored by the Nationalist Movement to study abroad, Sekeramayi has been a loyal member of the party since the 1960s and has held high profile posts in government. A medical doctor and a very reserved person, Sekeramayi was at one time one of the leading contenders to succeed President Robert Mugabe. This was when the exclusive club, the Committee of 26 comprising mainly Zezuru and Korekore, was still strong and wanted to shut out the Karanga- Eddison Zvobgo and Emmerson Mnangagwa - from taking over the party leadership. Sekeramayi has, however, never displayed any presidential ambitions which is probably why Mugabe trusts him as security minister. His star began to fade when Solomon Mujuru, who was spearheading the Committee of 26, decided to back his own wife, Joyce, with Simba Makoni as an alternative. Though out of presidential contention, Sekeremayi has remained one of Mugabe’s trusted ministers and cannot be written off.  He still plays a crucial role in deciding who succeeds Mugabe.