Joshua Kurt Sacco (born 22 August 1978) is a Zimbabwean politician and former musician who was elected to the

National Assembly of Zimbabwe The National Assembly of Zimbabwe, previously the House of Assembly until 2013, is the lower house of the Parliament of Zimbabwe. It was established upon Zimbabwe's independence in 1980 as one of two chambers of parliament. Between the abolition ...

in the 2018 general election. He represents the constituency of

Chimanimani East Chimanimani East is a constituency represented in the National Assembly of the Parliament of Zimbabwe, located in Manicaland Province. Since the 2018 general election, Joshua Sacco of ZANU–PF is the constituency's Member of Parliament. See a ...

as a member of

ZANU–PF The Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) is a political organisation which has been the ruling party of Zimbabwe since independence in 1980. The party was led for many years under Robert Mugabe, first as prime ministe ...

. He was re-elected in the 2023 general election. Sacco joined the government as the Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development in September 2023.

Early life and education

One of three children, Sacco was born on 22 August 1978 in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

in the former

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. His parents, Robert Paul and Mary Elizabeth Sacco, were part of the

anti-apartheid movement The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM), was a British organisation that was at the centre of the international movement opposing the South African apartheid system and supporting South Africa's non-White population who were persecuted by the policie ...

and members of the banned

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

. At the age of three, Sacco's parents moved the family to the newly independent

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

, seeking refuge from the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

government. They settled in the city of

Melsetter Chimanimani is a town in Zimbabwe. Location Chimanimani is a village located in Manicaland Province, in south-eastern Zimbabwe, close to the border with Mozambique. The village lies about , by road, south of Mutare, the location of the provin ...

(later Chimanimani) in the

Manicaland Province Manicaland is a province in eastern Zimbabwe. After Harare Province, it is the country's second-most populous province, with a population of 2.037 million, as of the 2022 census. After Harare and Bulawayo provinces, it is Zimbabwe's third-most de ...

where his parents established the Nyahode Union Learning Centre, a non-profit learning centre. Sacco attended Kwirire Primary School for his primary education and Nyahode High School for his secondary education. He did his Advanced Level (A-Level) at Mutare Boys' High School. Sacco had difficulty learning and speaking the

Shona language Shona (; sn, chiShona) is a Bantu language of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. It was codified by the colonial government in the 1950s. According to ''Ethnologue'', Shona, comprising the Zezuru, Korekore and Karanga dialects, is spoken by about 7 ...

, particularly the

Ndau dialect Ndau (also called chiNdau, Chindau, Ndzawu, Njao, Sofala, Southeast Shona, Chidanda) is a Bantu language spoken by 1,400,000 people in central Mozambique and southeastern Zimbabwe. The major varieties in Mozambique are called Shanga and Danda; t ...

, while attending school but later managed to learn and speak the language fluently. After graduating from high school, he worked for his parent's learning centre before establishing a sawmill business.

Musical career

Sacco started his musical career at the Nyahode High School where he sang in the school choir. He later formed the ''Radiation Band'' which produced

revolutionary music Revolutionary songs are political songs that advocate or praise revolutions. They are used to boost morale, as well as for political propaganda or agitation. Amongst the most well-known revolutionary songs are "La Marseillaise" and "The Internatio ...

and the band competed in the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

's ''Artists Against Poverty'' competition. The band performed at

rallies between 1999 and 2000. The band's songs "''Chenjera''" and "''Ivhu''" were in support of the government's land redistribution programme in the early-2000s.

Political career

Sacco joined ZANU–PF, Zimbabwe's ruling party since independence in 1980, in 1999 at cell-level. A party branch is made up of 10 cells. He gradually rose through the party's ranks, serving on the District Committee, the National Youth League Executive Committee before becoming a member of the party's Central Committee. In 2013, Sacco stood against incumbent Member of Parliament

Samuel Undenge Samuel Undenge (Born 1956) is a Zimbabwean politician. He is the former Energy and Power Development minister. Until 2018 he was a member of parliament from the Chimanimani East constituency in Manicaland Province. He was formerly the Minister of ...

in the ZANU–PF primary election to determine the party's candidate for the

parliamentary constituency for that year's parliamentary election. Undenge won the primary election, however, Sacco disputed the result. Nonetheless, he campaigned for Undenge in the run-up to the general election which Undenge won. Undenge was later expelled from ZANU–PF and Sacco was tasked by the party to superintend in the constituency. He stood in the party primary in the constituency again and won the election to determine the party's candidate for the 2018 general election. Sacco was elected Member of Parliament for the constituency at the election as ZANU–PF retained its majority in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

. In the aftermath of

Cyclone Idai Intense Tropical Cyclone Idai () was one of the worst tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere. The long-lived storm caused catastrophic damage, and a humanitarian crisis in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, lea ...

in March 2019, Sacco was accused of lying and deserting his constituents during the cyclone. Sacco denied the allegations and was defended by president

Emmerson Mnangagwa Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa (, American English, US: (); born 15 September 1942) is a Zimbabwean politician who has served as President of Zimbabwe since 24 November 2017. A member of ZANU–PF and a longtime ally of former President Robert Muga ...

and vice-president

Constantino Chiwenga Constantino Chiwenga (born Constantine Guveya Dominic Nyikadzino Chiwenga) (born 25 August 1956), is a Zimbabwean politician and former army general currently serving, since 2017, as the First Vice-President of Zimbabwe under President Emmerson ...

. In November of the same year, Sacco urged the national government to declare missing people from Cyclone Idai as deceased. Sacco stood uncontested in the party primary election in March 2023 and was re-elected to the

at the general election held in August 2023. On 14 September 2023, Sacco was sworn in as the Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development during a ceremony at State House in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

following his appointment by Mnangagwa.

Personal life

Sacco is married to Mercy Vhiki, one of the granddaughters of the late tribal chief Benjamin Muusha. They have four daughters together. Sacco and his family are members of the

Zion Christian Church The Zion Christian Church (ZCC) is one of the largest African-initiated churches operating across Southern Africa, and is part of the African Zionism movement. The church's headquarters are at Zion City Moria in Limpopo Province (old Northern ...

(ZCC); he is the church's coordinator in Chimanimani.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sacco, Joshua Living people 1978 births White South African people ZANU–PF politicians Members of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe Members of the 9th Parliament of Zimbabwe Members of the 10th Parliament of Zimbabwe 21st-century Zimbabwean politicians Zimbabwean musicians People from Manicaland Province White Zimbabwean politicians