Many people do not know who exactly Emmerson Mnangagwa is. The man who will, in all likelihood, take over the reins from Mugabe.
A man who has very suddenly found his moral and ethical compass and conscience; who now espouses the principals of democracy, peace and unity.
This is a man who was minister of national security for Zimbabwe from 1980-1988, and who now claims to be leading a “transitional phase to pave the way for a peaceful free and democratic election”.
From 1998-2000 he was the minister of justice, legal and parliamentary affairs – the time when Mugabe rigged the elections and took three weeks to announce “”results” that showed, miraculously that he had ”won”.
A man who was Mugabe’s chief election agent during the 2008 presidential election with all the intimidation and rigging going on.
The list goes on and on.
More importantly, on his watch as minister of national security, he was one of the key people responsible for what was known as Operation Gukurahandi when from 1983-1987 the Zimbabwean Army (specifically the 5th Brigade trained by the North Koreans), systematically murdered approximately 20 000 members of the Ndebele community for suspected anti-government activities.
This is a documented event – not fiction.
To put this in perspective, it is the same number of black people who were murdered under the apartheid regime.
Perhaps rather appropriately, Mnangagwa's nickname is “The Crocodile”, which is very befitting bearing in mind PW Botha's nickname.
From one thieving and murdering despot to another.