Protecting the army’s power

Emmerson Mnangagwa, one of Robert Mugabe’s most trusted henchmen, has long been seen as the front-runner to succeed the President.

Grace Mugabe, the President’s wife, conscious of her husband’s advanced age and frailty, has been moving with speed and ruthlessness to establish herself as his successor. In the latest of a series of purges to remove potential rivals, she persuaded the President last week to dismiss Mnangagwa as VicePresident. Her manoeuvring has backfired spectacularly. The beneficiary would appear to be Mnangagwa. He has always been close to the security establishment and to the long-time head of the armed forces, General Constantine Chiwenga.

Mnangagwa and his associates have been careful to avoid portraying their move as a coup, since they will be conscious of the high regard in which the African Union and neighbouring countries hold Mugabe, despite the ruin he has brought to his country. But clearly what is unfolding is a coup in all but name. There will be relief in many quarters at the end of the Mugabe era, and the removal of the President’s deeply unpopular wife. There will equally be hope that Mnangagwa, who is viewed by many as a more a more pragmatic and business-friendly figure, can arrest Zimbabwe’s downward spiral.

But the action taken by the military was not a rejection of the disastrous policies long pursued by Zanu-PF, of which they have been enthusiastic backers. It was the result of an internal Zanu-PF power struggle to reassert what the security forces would regard as the rightful presidential succession. This would ensure their continued access to the economic benefits of power, which Grace Mugabe’s purge risked disrupting.

Mnangagwa has held ministerial positions almost exclusively within the security establishment. And the army, and those allied with it, have been at the forefront of the pillaging of Zimbabwe’s mineral wealth and seizure of white-owned farms.

The international community should encourage Mnangagwa to establish a government of national unity. Zimbabwe has all the ingredients to claw its way back to the prosperity which its long-suffering citizens deserve — but only if Mugabe’s successor abandons the disastrous policies of the past.

Mark Canning was British Ambassador to Zimbabwe from 2009-11

support of the ruling party’s youth wing and led a faction of party leaders in their 40s and 50s in a growing generational divide. Emmerson Mnangagwa: Nicknamed “The Crocodile” for his ruthlessness, Mugabe’s once likely successor became the target of increasing insults by the President and his wife in recent weeks. The 75-year-old, a veteran of the fight for independence has long enjoyed the military’s support as a former defence minister. He fled Zimbabwe citing threats to him and his family. Both the army and war veterans group have expressed support for him. Constantino Chiwenga: The army commander on Tuesday warned against a purge of Mnangagwa supporters and other senior war veterans. The statement by 61-year-old Chiwenga also opened the first public rift between Mugabe and the military. — AP