Zimbabwe’s ‘Crocodile’ cements position as Mugabe heir

Zimbabwe Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has cemented his status as heir apparent to 91-year-old Robert Mugabe after getting close allies appointed to important cabinet posts and securing the tasks of reforming the economy and legal system.

A secretive confidante nicknamed ‘Crocodile’ in the Shona language, Mnangagwa was appointed Mugabe’s official deputy in December after the sacking of Joice Mujuru, who had held the position for 10 years.

Mugabe has reshuffled his cabinet three times in the last nine months to purge Mujuru supporters and end factional fights over an eventual successor. Each time, Mnangagwa allies have secured cabinet posts.

With his right-hand-man, July Moyo, leading operations at ZANU-PF party headquarters and with what is believed to be the backing of the military top brass, Mnangagwa is the closest to power.

“He will have to contend with various forces...he has many obstacles to overcome. Having said that, he is the most strategically located to take over,” said Eldred Masunungure, political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe.

“He is a close ally and confidante of the president for a long time.”

Under Mugabe, the only leader Zimbabwe has known since independence in 1980, the economy hit a deep recession from 1999-2008, with inflation reaching 500 billion percent amid widespread food shortages. It has yet to fully recover.

Critics accuse Mugabe’s government, which has been seizing white-owned commercial farms since 2000, of trampling on basic rights, undermining the rule of law and ignoring court judgments against the veteran leader’s administration.