Who is the successor to the president of Zimbabwe?
•November 23, 2017 07:51
(Baonghean.vn) - Former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was fired by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, will take office as President of Zimbabwe tomorrow, November 24.
Mr Mnangagwa was born in Zvishavane in 1942 and belongs to the Karanga subgroup of Zimbabwe's majority Shona community.
In 1965, at the age of 21, Mr. Mnangagwa led a group of young men called “the crocodiles” to blow up a train near Fort Victoria and was arrested and tortured by the white government of the Republic of Rhodesia (an unrecognized African state that existed from 1965 to 1979), resulting in hearing loss in one ear. Mr. Mnangagwa was 21 at the time. Although he was not executed, Mr. Mnangagwa was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Mr. Mnangagwa is considered to have contributed to directing the war for independence in Zimbabwe in the 1970s. BBC said Mr. Mnangagwa had received military training in Egypt and China.
In 2001, Mr. Mnangagwa was considered the “architect of Zanu-PF’s commercial activities.” This assessment stemmed from the activities of the Zimbabwean military and businessmen in the Republic of Congo. In the photo: Mr. Emmerson Mnangagwa (left) and Mr. Robert Mugabe. Photo: AFP
During the war in Congo from 1994 to 2003, the Zimbabwean army sided with the Congolese government. Like many other countries involved in the conflict, Zimbabwe was accused of taking advantage of the chaos in Congo to illegally take diamonds, gold and minerals from the country. In the photo:Mnangagwa with Mugabe and Josiah Tongogara, a guerrilla commander.
Mr. Mnangagwa is nicknamed “crocodile” because of his long-term survival skills in politics. Mr. Mnangagwa became more famous after the civil war that occurred in the 1980s between Mr. Mugabe’s Zanu party and politician Joshua Nkomo’s Zapu party. At that time, Mr. Mnangagwa held the position of Minister of National Security and managed the Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) - an agency that is said to have cooperated with the army to suppress the Zapu party. Mnangagwa is nicknamed crocodile. In the photo, he is clapping when given a fake crocodile.
Mnangagwa was actually an intelligence chief in the 1980s who led a purge of his opponents that left at least 20,000 people dead. The operation, dubbed Gukurahundi, left 20,000 people dead, but Mnangagwa has consistently denied the accusations. He is considered ruthless and very arrogant. Mnangagwa is a rare leader in Zimbabwe who goes out without security. Pictured are Mugabe and Mnangagwa (right).
Thousands of civilians supporting the Zapu party were killed in the civil war. Mr Mnangagwa has always denied any involvement in the deaths of civilians and said the military was responsible. The two parties later merged to form Zanu-PF.
Mr. Mnangagwa has held various roles in the Zimbabwean government, including Minister of Justice, Minister of Finance, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and finally Vice President in 2014. Pictured: Mnangagwa being sworn in as Vice President before Mugabe in 2014.
During the 2008 election, when Mr Mugabe lost the first round to rival Morgan Tsvangirai, there were widespread rumours that Mr Mnangagwa himself had masterminded the Zanu-PF campaign in conjunction with the military and intelligence services. Photo: AFP
The Zimbabwean military and intelligence services then launched a campaign of violence against opposition supporters, leaving hundreds dead and thousands homeless. Mr Tsvangirai later withdrew from the second round of elections, which resulted in Mr Mugabe being re-elected as president. Mnangagwa's loyalty was rewarded with an appointed seat as speaker of the lower house in 2000.
For his part, Mr. Mnangagwa did not comment on the suspicion that he was the mastermind behind this violent plan. BBC quoted a source in the Zanu-PF party confirming that Mr. Mnangagwa was the link between the army, the intelligence agency and the Zanu-PF party. This source also commented that Mr. Mnangagwa was "President Mugabe's ear".
However, events in 2017 changed this. In August, Mr. Mnangagwa suddenly fell ill at a political event of President Mugabe and was forced to go to South Africa for treatment. Mr. Mnangagwa's supporters claimed that the 75-year-old politician had been poisoned and the name mentioned was his wife Grace Mugabe. After that, many other developments occurred leading to turmoil in Zimbabwe and the resignation of 93-year-old leader Robert Mugabe. In the photo: Mnangagwa and his wife Auxilia in January 2017.
Mr. Mnangagwa's inauguration will take place on November 24. Mr. Lovemore Matuke, a leader of the ZANU-PF party, said Mr. Mnangagwa will replace Mr. Mugabe to complete the presidential term until the general election in September 2018.
