‘CROCODILE’ CAN BE AS RUTHLESS AS MUGABE

Former Zimbabwe No. 2 Mnangagwa will be sworn in as president today

HARARE as vice-president by Mugabe on Nov 6, it looked like he was outfoxed by the first lady, forcing him to flee the country.

But the situation turned on its head, with his dismissal triggering a military takeover and mass street protests, which ended with Mugabe’s ouster and Mnangagwa catapulted to the centre stage.

With the nation still reeling from Mugabe’s lightning demise, Mnangagwa, 75, made a triumphant return on Wednesday and will be sworn in today.

Mnangagwa, who has close ties with the army, told adoring crowds here on Wednesday that they were witnessing “unfolding full democracy”.

“Today, we are witnessing the beginning of a new and unfolding full democracy in our country,” he said in front of hundreds of supporters, some wearing shirts emblazoned with images of him.

“We want to grow our economy, we want jobs... all patriotic Zimbabweans (should) come together, work together.”

A former close Mugabe ally, Mnangagwa’s fall appears to have been engineered by the first lady, who lobbied her husband to back her political ambitions.

It was the climax of a long feud between the pair over who would replace the ailing and increasingly frail 93-year-old leader.

But Mnangagwa’s dismissal alarmed the army, with the generals quickly moving in, staging a military takeover that brought him down within days.

Mnangagwa’s rise to the top comes after decades of experience under Mugabe since Zimbabwe won independence from Britain in 1980.

He has held a host of different cabinet positions, but relations between him and his political mentor were not always easy, and he was no stranger to presidential purges. AFP