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| *Emmerson Mnangagwa, Robert Mugabe, Grace Mugabe |
Mr Mugabe, 93, resigned amid a military takeover and mass
demonstrations - all sparked by his sacking of Mr Mnangagwa as his
vice-president.
"The crocodile", who lived up to his name and snapped
back, may have unseated Zimbabwe's only ruler, but he is still associated with
some of worst atrocities committed under the ruling Zanu-PF party since
independence in 1980.
One veteran of the liberation struggle, who worked with him for many
years, once put it simply: "He's a very cruel man, very cruel."
But his children see him as a principled, if unemotional, man. His
daughter, Farai Mlotshwa - a property developer and the eldest of his nine
children by two wives - told BBC Radio 4 that he was a "softie".
As if to reinforce this softer image of the new leader, a cuddly
crocodile soft toy was being passed among the Zanu-PF supporters welcoming him
back to the country after Mr Mugabe's resignation.
And
what he lacks in charisma and oratory prowess, he makes up for in pragmatism,
says close friend and Zanu-PF politician Josiah Hungwe.
"Mnangagwa is a practical person. He is a person who recognises
that politics is politics but people must eat," he told the BBC, adding
that reforming Zimbabwe
Who is Emmerson Mnangagwa?
§ *Known as "the crocodile" because of
his political shrewdness - his Zanu-PF faction is "Lacoste"
§ * Received military training in China and Egypt
§ *Tortured by Rhodesian forces after his
"crocodile gang" staged attacks
§ *Helped direct Zimbabwe
§ *Became the country's spymaster during the 1980s
civil conflict, in which thousands of civilians were killed, but has denied any
role in the massacres, blaming the army
§ * Accused of masterminding attacks on opposition
supporters after 2008 election
§ *Says he will deliver jobs, and seen as open to
economic reforms
The
exact year of Mr Mnangagwa's birth is not known - but he is thought to be 75,
so nearly 20 years younger than his predecessor.
Born in the central region of Zvishavane, he is a Karanga - the
largest clan of Zimbabwe
Some Karangas feel it is their turn for power, following 37 years of
domination by Mr Mugabe's Zezuru clan, though he himself has been accused of
profiting during his time in power.
According to a United Nations report in 2001, Mr Mnangagwa was seen
as "the architect of the commercial activities of Zanu-PF".
This largely related to the operations of the Zimbabwean army and
businessmen in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Zimbabwean troops intervened in the DR Congo conflict on the side of
the government and, like those of other countries, were accused of using the
conflict to loot some of its rich natural resources such as diamonds, gold and
other minerals.
More recently military officials - many behind his rise to power - have been accused of benefiting from the rich Marange
diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe
Blood On His Hands'
Despite his money-raising role, Mr Mnangagwa, a lawyer who grew up
in Zambia
A Zanu-PF official posed an interesting question when asked about Mr
Mnangagwa's prospects: "You think Mugabe is bad, but have you thought that
whoever comes after him could be even worse?"
The opposition candidate who defeated Mr Mnangagwa in the 2000
parliamentary campaign in Kwekwe Central, Blessing Chebundo, might agree.
During a bitter campaign, Mr Chebundo escaped death by a whisker
when the Zanu-PF youths who had abducted him and doused him with petrol were
unable to light a match.
Mr
Mnangagwa's fearsome reputation was made during the civil war which broke out
in the 1980s between Mr Mugabe's Zanu party and the Zapu party of Joshua Nkomo.
As national security minister, he was in charge of the Central
Intelligence Organisation (CIO), which worked hand in glove with the army to
suppress Zapu.
Thousands of innocent civilians - mainly ethnic Ndebeles, seen as
Zapu supporters - were killed in a campaign known as Gukurahundi, before the
two parties merged to form Zanu-PF.
Among countless other atrocities carried out by North Korean-trained
Fifth Brigade of the army, villagers were forced at gunpoint to dance on the
freshly dug graves of their relatives and chant pro-Mugabe slogans.
Mr Mnangagwa has denied any role in the massacres, but the wounds
are still painful and many party officials, not to mention voters, in Matabeleland will find a Mnangagwa presidency
unpalatable.
He does enjoy the support of many of the war veterans who led the
campaign of violence against the white farmers and the opposition from 2000.
They remember him as one of the men who, following his military
training in China and Egypt
He also attended the Beijing School of Ideology, run by the Chinese
Communist Party.
Mr
Mnangagwa's official profile says he was the victim of state violence after
being arrested by the white-minority government in the former Rhodesia in 1965, when the "crocodile
gang" he led helped blow up a train near Fort Victoria
"He was tortured, severely resulting in him losing his sense of
hearing in one ear," the profile says.
"Part
of the torture techniques involved being hanged with his feet on the ceiling
and the head down. The severity of the torture made him unconscious for
days."
As he said was under 21 at the time, he was not executed but instead
sentenced to 10 years in prison.
"He has scars from that period. He was young and brave," a
close friend of Mr Mnangagwa once said, asking not to be named.
"Perhaps that explains why he is indifferent. Horrible things
happened to him when he was young."
His ruthlessness, which it could be argued he learnt from his
Rhodesian torturers, is said to have been seen again in 2008 when he reportedly
masterminded Zanu-PF's response to Mr Mugabe losing the first round of the
president election to long-time rival Morgan Tsvangirai.
The military and state security organisations unleashed a campaign
of violence against opposition supporters, leaving hundreds dead and forcing
thousands from their homes.
Mr Tsvangirai then pulled out of the second round and Mr Mugabe was
re-elected.
Mr Mnangagwa has not commented on allegations he was involved in
planning the violence, but an insider in the party's security department later
confirmed that he was the political link between the army, intelligence and
Zanu-PF.
And
he was seen as Mr Mugabe's right-hand man - that is until the former first lady
Grace Mugabe became politically ambitious and tried to edge him out.
Their rivalry took a bizarre turn earlier this year when he fell ill
in August at a political rally led by former President Mugabe and had to be
airlifted to South Africa
His
supporters suggested that a rival group within Zanu-PF had poisoned him and
appeared to blame ice cream from Mrs Mugabe's dairy firm.
In his first words to cheering supporters after Mr Mugabe's
resignation, he spoke about this plot and the more recent plan to
"eliminate" him.
His performance - while not matching Mr Mugabe's eloquence - was
well received.
"Today we are witnessing the beginning of a new and unfolding
democracy," he said, calling for jobs and economic growth.
Nick Mangwana, Zanu-PF representative in the UK , accepts that the Zimbabwe
"He's not pally-pally but more of a do-er, more of a
technocrat."
His youngest son, a Harare DJ known as St Emmo, blames this
reticence for his fearsome reputation.
"He was a good father, very very strict. He doesn't say much
and I think that's what frightens people - like: 'What is he thinking?'"
British journalist Martin Fletcher, who interviewed Mr Mnangagwa in
2016, does not see a political opening in the country any time soon.
But, he says, there is still hope for the economy, whose collapse
has been widely blamed on Mr Mugabe. Zimbabweans are on average 15% poorer now
than they were in the 1980s.
"He understands the need to rebuild the economy if only so that
he can pay his security forces - and his survival depends on their loyalty."
-BBC
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