Webster Kotiwani Shamu is a

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

an politician and former Minister of Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs who was fired by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on 21 May 2018. He previously served as Minister of Information and Publicity, and as Minister of State for Policy Implementation. He is a member of parliament representing the Chegutu constituency. The Cabinet of Zimbabwe was later dissolved on 27 November 2017.

Background

Webster Shamu has also been known as Charles Ndlovu, having changed his name during the civil war (1972–1980), as did many others who used pseudonyms to mask their identities. Shamu, previously a freelance broadcaster under the

Smith Smith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England ** List of people ...

regime and a well-known presenter to thousands on Radio Harare as the voice behind "The Lyons Maid Hit Parade", escaped from British South Africa Police attention for suspected or alleged crimes, crossed the border into Mozambique where he became again a well known voice to African listeners, broadcasting back from Maputo as the "Voice of Zimbabwe". He was appointed as Minister of State for Policy Implementation on 9 February 2004. Shamu, as Minister of State for Policy Implementation, presented President

Robert Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of th ...

with a present of a

nile crocodile The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the eastern, southern, and ce ...

, to be part of the museum being built for the president. Shamu is among a host of individuals not allowed to travel to the United States because the US government feels he has worked to undermine democracy in Zimbabwe. He has business interests in common with Charles Davy, the father of Chelsy Davy, the former girlfriend of

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...

, through Davy's HHK Safaris, which incorporates Shamu's Famba Safaris. HHK Safaris and Shamu were investigated for illegal ivory trading in 2007.

Political career

He was the editor of the ZANU-PF weekly news publication, the ''People's Voice'', until he stepped down in 2004 to take up his post as the Minister of Policy Implementation in the President's office.

2000 parliamentary election

Shamu controversially won the Chegutu constituency in 2000 parliamentary election. His adversary in the election, Philemon Matibe, who ran on an MDC ticket, was one of the few black commercial farmers to lose a farm after the elections, to a mob purportedly hired by Shamu.

Minister of Industry and International Trade

Shamu has appeared at the forefront praising the work of Gideon Gono to revive the economy of the country, although all these efforts appear to have been in vain. He was placed on the

United States sanctions United States government sanctions are financial and trade restrictions imposed against individuals, entities, and jurisdictions whose actions contradict U.S. foreign policy or national security goals. Financial sanctions are primarily administ ...

list in 2005.

2008 parliamentary election

Shamu was nominated by ZANU-PF as its candidate for the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

seat from Chegutu East constituency in the March 2008 parliamentary election. According to official results, he easily won the seat, receiving 9,222 votes against 2,724 for the candidate of the MDC faction led by

Morgan Tsvangirai Morgan Richard Tsvangirai (; ; 10 March 1952 – 14 February 2018) was a Zimbabwean politician who was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 2009 to 2013. He was president of the Movement for Democratic Change, and later the Movement for Democrati ...

and 1,218 votes for the candidate of the MDC faction led by

Arthur Mutambara Arthur G.O. Mutambara is a multifaceted leader, academic, and technology expert currently serving as the director and full professor of the Institute for the Future of Knowledge (IFK) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in South Africa. Ren ...

Unity government

When the ZANU-PF–MDC

national unity government A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other na ...

was sworn in on 13 February 2009, Shamu became Minister of Information and Publicity. After taking office, he fell into a dispute with Nelson Chamisa, the Minister of Information Communication Technology, regarding which ministry should deal with telecommunications. ''The Herald'' reported on 10 April 2009, that President Mugabe had assigned responsibility for telecommunications to the Ministry of Transport, headed by Nicholas Goche.

2014 ousting

He was removed from his party position as ZANU-PF national political commissar and lost his central committee membership after being accused of being sympathetic to the then suspended Joice Mujuru and her presumed loyalists. He was also suspended from the party and removed from his ministerial position.

2017 Zimbabwe coup d'etat

On 27 November 2017, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who succeeded ousted President Robert Mugabe following the 2017 Zimbabwe coup d'etat, announced the dissolution of the Zimbabwe Cabinet, leaving only

Patrick Chinamasa Patrick Antony Chinamasa (born 25 January 1947) is a Zimbabwean politician who served in the government of Zimbabwe as the minister of various cabinet ministries. Previously he served as the Minister of Finance and Investment Promotion and the ...

and Simbarashe Mumbengegwi as acting ministers of Finance and Foreign Affairs respectively.

Return to ZANU-PF

Shamu was re-appointed as a central committee member at the December 2016 ZANU-PF annual conference. He was then restored to the cabinet in a reshuffle on 9 October 2017, appointed as the Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs minister. Shamu was fired by President Emmerson Mnagangwa on 21 May 2018. No reasons were given for his sudden expulsion which was with immediate effect. Prior to him being sacked, he had been in the eye of a storm after he was found with ballots marked in his name, which was used in the Zanu PF primary elections which held in April 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shamu, Webster Members of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe Living people 1945 births Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army personnel ZANU–PF politicians Government ministers of Zimbabwe Members of the 8th Parliament of Zimbabwe Members of the 9th Parliament of Zimbabwe Members of the 10th Parliament of Zimbabwe