Embattled former Zimbabwe’s deputy who was fired by Robert Mugabe for exchanging publicly with the first lady Grace Mugabe is set to officially take the helm on Friday.
This follows President Mugabe’s resignation yesterday through a letter that was presented while a motion to impeach him was being debated.
Emmerson Mnangagwa who goes by the moniker “The Crocodile” has made use of the dictum ties that bind by using the army he since led as security minister to coax Mugabe into resignation.
Ruling Zanu-PF party has said that Mr Mnangagwa is going to be sworn in following a decision taken by its central committee on Sunday.
Born in the southwestern Zvishavane district on September 15, 1942, Mnangagwa completed his early education in Zimbabwe before his family relocated to neighboring Zambia.
READ: Mugabe Bows To Pressure; Paves Way For Axed Deputy
In 1966, Mnangagwa joined the struggle for independence from Britain, becoming one of the young combatants who helped direct the war after undergoing training in China and Egypt.
He was arrested and sentenced to death for blowing up a train but his sentence was later commuted to 10 years in prison because of his young age.
It was while in jail that he met Mugabe and the two had a father-son relationship
After independence in 1980, he directed the Gukurahundi massacres – a brutal crackdown on opposition supporters that claimed thousands of lives in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces.
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