Godwin Matanga

Tandabantu Godwin Matanga (born 5 February 1962) is a Zimbabwean police officer who served as the Commissioner-General of the Zimbabwe Republic Police from 19 December 2017 to 31 December 2024. He took office after the removal of Augustine Chihuri following the November 2017 coup d'état, and was officially appointed as Commissioner-General on 12 February 2018 by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. He joined the police in 1982 and previously had been deputy commissioner-general since 1992. He was retired by Emerson Mnangagwa on 20 Dec 2024 with the retirement taking effect on end of day 31 December 2024. He will be 62.

A veteran of Zimbabwe's war of independence, Matanga is closely aligned with ZANU–PF and has been involved in internal party politics and anti-opposition political violence. He has been subject to American and British sanctions since 2005 and 2021, respectively.

Police career Matanga was born on 5 February 1962 in Chipinge, Manicaland Province, in what was then Southern Rhodesia. In 1978, the 16-year-old Matanga joined the liberation struggle, crossing the border into Mozambique to join the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army. In 1979, he was deployed to Romania and Egypt for training. On 22 November 2005, Matanga was placed under United States Treasury Department sanctions, along with 127 other Zimbabweans accused of "hindering the democratic transition of Zimbabwe," by President George W. Bush, who described the 2005 Zimbabwean parliamentary election as "not free or fair." In 2011, it was reported that Matanga was vying against Innocent Matibiri, a nephew of President Robert Mugabe, for the position of commissioner-general amid rumors that Augustine Chihuri's term would not be renewed. Matanga is closely aligned with the ruling party, ZANU–PF, and has been involved in internal party politics and anti-opposition political violence. In 2012, he was present at a meeting of the ZANU–PF provincial coordinating committee for Manicaland ahead of the 2013 elections, along with other top army and police officials.

On 19 December 2017, Matanga was appointed acting commissioner-general of the Zimbabwe Republic Police. He replaced Augustine Chihuri, an ally of President Robert Mugabe, who was forced to retire after the president was ousted in the November 2017 coup d'état. According to Chihuri, Matanga helped set the coup in motion when he told the country's military commander, Constantino Chiwenga, that Chihuri was planning to arrest him. Chihuri accused Matanga of sending police to set his home on fire and harass his family, and of being unqualified for the post of police chief. The sanctions bar Matanga and the others from traveling to the UK or accessing the country's banks, and were the first sanctions put in place by Britain unilaterally since its departure from the European Union.

Personal life Matanga is married to Chamapiwa Matanga. He has at least two sons, who are involved in the ZANU–PF Youth League.