On 9 October 2017, President Mugabe announced a new cabinet in which Mnangagwa, while maintaining the vice-presidency, lost his position as Minister of Justice to Happyton Bonyongwe, the country's spymaster. The previous week, Mnangagwa announced that he had been poisoned at the August rally in Gwanda, in contrast to previous statements where he said only that he had "fallen ill." That statement, coupled with President Mugabe's announcement several days later that he planned to review the performance of his ministers, led to speculation that a cabinet reshuffle could result in an unfavorable outcome for Mnangagwa.