Mugabe sacks deputy Mnangagwa
HARARE: Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe fired his deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, yesterday for his “disloyalty”, “unreliability” and “little probity in the execution of duties”.
“His Excellency the President, Cde RG Mugabe, has exercised his powers to relieve Honourable Vice-President ED Mnangagwa, of his position as VP of the Republic of Zimbabwe,” government spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo said reading his statement.
“His conduct in the discharge of his duties had become inconsistent with his official responsibilities. The VP has consistently and persistently exhibited traits of disloyalty, disrespect, deceitfulness and unreliability.
“He has also demonstrated little probity in the execution of his duties.”
Moyo made the announcement yesterday afternoon, at the Munhumutapa Offices, where Mugabe’s offices are located.
This comes after Mugabe threatened to relieve Mnangagwa of his duties on Saturday, at the Zanu-PF youth interface rally at White City Stadium in Bulawayo.
Mnangagwa becomes the second vice-president to be relieved of his duties after Joice Mujuru, who now leads opposition party, the National People’s Party, was sacked in 2014 for allegedly plotting to topple Mugabe.
Mnangagwa reportedly leads the Lacoste faction in the ruling party, while another faction, G40, is said to be coalescing around First Lady Grace Mugabe.
Mnangagwa had become Grace’s punching bag in the continuing fights in the ruling party.
At the weekend in Bulawayo, Mugabe, for the first time, attacked his deputy publicly asking him why the First Family was always ridiculed in the name of the vice-president.
A day later at the Rufaro Stadium in the capital, Grace told thousands of members of the apostolic sects that Mnangagwa and his “Team Lacoste faction must be shown the door”.