On Monday a furious President Robert Mugabe pulled the trigger and fired his long time water-carrier Emmerson Mnangagwa from the position of Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe.
Mugabe on Wednesday has indirectly threatened his former vice president and comrade in arms, Emmerson Mnangagwa, with death. Addressing supporters at the party headquarters in Harare this afternoon, Mugabe said “I am warning you; be careful! You can die.”
Since then, according to Nehanda Radio various stories have been thrown around about Mnangagwa’s whereabouts.
Below we document what we know so far.
Apparently now in exile Mnangagwa has issued a 5 page statement telling Mugabe;
“ZANU-PF “is not personal property of you and your wife to do as you please. This is now a party controlled by undisciplined, egotistical and self-serving minnows who derive their power not from the people and party but from only two individuals in the form of the First Family,” he said.
The commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) Constantine Chiwenga travelled to China last week and according to our sources he is still in China. Its being reported Mugabe’s next target is Chiwenga, who is accused of supporting Mnangagwa’s ambitions to succeed him.
Some are even suggesting Chiwenga will meet Mnangagwa in South Africa.
Grace Mugabe wants Mnangagwa dead
Its our understanding Mugabe and his wife Grace were not content with just firing Mnangagwa as VP but actually wanted him dead. Mnangagwa confirmed this by admitting his life was under threat.
According to the Zimbabwe Liberation War Veterans Association leader‚ Chris Mutsvangwa‚ who was speaking at a media briefing in Sandton (South Africa) on Wednesday.
“The vice president (Mnangagwa) is safe…he is in a place where assassins can no longer reach him‚” he said‚ adding that Mnangagwa may soon be travelling to Johannesburg.
These revelations bring a new dimension to the claims made last month when Mnangagwa claimed he had survived a poisoning attempt at a Zanu PF rally in Gwanda.
Senior officials who spoke before Mugabe and his wife aimed jibes at Mnangagwa, describing him a “border jumper.”
Mutsvangwa, speaking to reporters in Johannesburg, described Mugabe as a “dictator” hoping to cling to power until his death and his wife as a “mad woman.”
“They want to seize power ahead of the election,” knowing they have lost popularity, Mutsvangwa said. Mugabe, the world’s oldest head of state, is already running for next year’s election.
Bodyguard betrayed Mnangagwa?
A yet unconfirmed story claims Grace Mugabe put a $250 000 bounty for Mnangagwa’s head and that one of Mnangagwa’s bodyguard was betraying him while selling out his whereabouts.
An attempt to send a plane to pick up Mnangagwa from Buffalo Range Airport in Chiredzi was blocked by the Central Intelligence Organisation who were alerted by the mole in Mnangagwa’s camp.
Mnangagwa and his son have avoided using their regular phones because they were being bugged.
Witchcraft
Robert Mugabe said on Wednesday he fired his deputy and longtime ally for scheming to take power, including by consulting witch doctors.
President Robert Mugabe spoke publicly for the first time since dismissing Emmerson Mnangagwa, who had been seen as Mugabe’s potential successor. Now Mugabe’s wife appears poised for the role.
The 93-year-old Mugabe told thousands of cheering supporters that Mnangagwa had plotted to take over since becoming a vice president in 2014.
Mnangagwa replaced Joice Mujuru, who had been ousted and accused by Mugabe of using witchcraft to take power.
“We have kicked him out for the same reasons that saw us chasing away Mujuru,” Mugabe said of Mnangagwa. The president added: “People were told that I will retire in March but I did not. Upon realizing that I wasn’t, he started consulting traditional healers on when I was going to die.”
First lady Grace Mugabe has been endorsed by ruling party groups to take over from Mnangagwa as vice president at a party congress next month, placing her in prime position to succeed her husband.
“No one will remove the president except God,” the first lady told the crowd on Wednesday, without directly addressing her ambitions. “God grant me the serenity to accept things I can’t change. I love my president. I will help him to make the country prosper.” On Sunday, she said at a rally that she was ready to take over from her husband.
It was reported that Mnangagwa had left Zimbabwe. Senior officials who spoke before Mugabe and his wife aimed jibes at Mnangagwa, describing him a “border jumper.”
An ally of Mnangagwa, Chris Mutsvangwa, speaking to reporters in Johannesburg, described Mugabe as a “dictator” hoping to cling to power until his death and his wife as a “mad woman.”
“They want to seize power ahead of the election,” knowing they have lost popularity, Mutsvangwa said. Mugabe, the world’s oldest head of state, is already running for next year’s election.
Frustration has been growing in the once-prosperous southern African nation as the economy has deteriorated under Mugabe, who has been in power since independence from white minority rule in 1980.
Mnangagwa was the more prominent of the country’s two vice presidents and had been part of Mugabe’s cabinet since independence. He is said to have enjoyed the support of military generals and war veterans; his critics view him as ruthless because he was in charge of state security when Mugabe unleashed a North Korean-trained brigade to crush dissent in western Zimbabwe in the 1980s