Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa appointed the country’s military chief, Gen. Anselem Sanyatwe, as the new sports minister on Tuesday.
Coventry, celebrated as Africa’s most successful Olympian and dubbed “a golden girl” by Mnangagwa, made history by becoming the first woman and the first African to lead the global Olympic movement.
She was reportedly warmly welcomed back to Harare following her landmark election. Coventry announced she would relocate to Lausanne, Switzerland, the Olympic headquarters, to begin her eight-year term in June.
President Mnangagwa praised Coventry for her “deserved election” to the prestigious post, noting that she had been “relieved” of her ministerial duties. Meanwhile, Gen. Sanyatwe, the commander of the Zimbabwe National Army, has been “terminated” from his military position to take up the sports minister role.