Mbeki was sent to Salisbury (renamed to Harare in 1980) immediately after Robert Mugabe took office as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe in 1980. On 11 August 1980, Tambo and Mbeki met with Mugabe and his advisor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, in Salisbury. The meeting resulted in MK being allowed to move ammunition and cadres through Zimbabwe. Mugabe guaranteed that his government would assist ANC cooperatives in Zimbabwe. Mbeki, preferring to return to Lusaka, decided to hand over the reins in Zimbabwe to Chris Hani, who was to continue the relationship with Mugabe. In July 1981 Joe Gqabi, the ANC representative in Zimbabwe, was assassinated at his home. The relationship between the ANC and the Zimbabwean government came under strain. During the 1980s, Mbeki became a leading figure in the SACP, rising to the party's central committee by the mid-1980s. The SACP was a vital part of the ANC alliance.