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Engelbert Rugeje is set to become Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Mozambique after initially refusing the post; he backed down under political pressure.
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The position is feared locally as a “graveyard shift” because his two predecessors both died while serving.
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Analysts see the deployment as President Mnangagwa’s tactic to sideline powerful security figures allied with VP Constantino Chiwenga ahead of succession battles.
Rugeje’s Profile
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Born c. 1962 in Bikita, Masvingo Province; former liberation fighter (ZANLA, nickname “Sunbat”) and retired Lieutenant General.
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Highly educated: master’s degrees from Lancaster, an MBA from Harvard, and a PhD from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (2017).
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Held senior military roles (including fourth-in-command of the Defence Forces) and ZANU-PF positions (National Political Commissar 2017–2019; later National Secretary for Economic Affairs).
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Controversies: linked to an alleged 2007 coup plot against Mugabe (arrested, no conviction), accused of land seizures in 2012, and survived a 2019 car accident.
Other Zimbabwe News
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Zimbabwe is in final negotiations with the UK to repatriate ancestral remains and skulls taken during the colonial era.
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Tafadzwa Victor Hwacha, a prominent intelligence practitioner and liberation war veteran, died on 25 October 2026.
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DJ Masomere received gifts (including a house, farm, and vehicle) for 2023 campaign work; his upgraded house was officially opened on 31 October 2026, shortly after donor Wicknell Chivayo died in a helicopter crash.
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Veteran actor William Matenga (“Gweshe Gweshe”) died aged 63.
South Africa / Africa
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FIFA-licensed agent Hamed Ghadiri is suing MT Sports for a R1.25 million commission over Pitso Mosimane’s move to Iranian club Esteghlal; MT Sports refuses to pay, and the dispute is tied to a FIFA process and a separate multi-million-rand legal battle involving Mamelodi Sundowns.
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Miss SA 2026 finale: 14 November 2026 at Sandton Convention Centre, hosted by Lawrence Maleka and Jo-Ann Strauss, broadcast on DStv Channel 161; judges include Thuli Madonsela.
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AI awards to be held in Johannesburg on 13 November 2026.
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SADC has called for bids for World Bank-funded groundwater management consultancy services.
