First Lady Grace Mugabe may be rightly worried that her husband should name a successor before he dies.
Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko also has every reason to be worried.
Their nemesis Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa seems to have been the military’s choice for some time, way before he was even appointed Vice-President.
According to former Tanzanian ambassador to Zimbabwe Adadi Rajabu the military was likely to put Mnangagwa forward as president if President Robert Mugabe died suddenly.
He said this in2009 when Mnangagwa was Minister of Defence and Joice Mujuru was the country’s Vice-President.
He argued that those who think the military’s professionalism will keep it from intervening in politics were wrong.
They would step in and put Mnangagwa as leader, Rajabu said, because they did not trust Mujuru.
Rajabu said Mugabe at one time appeared to be looking at Joice Mujuru as a possible successor, but hardliners within the party labelled her and her husband as too close to the US and UK and he switched his attention to Emmerson Mnangagwa.
It wasn’t clear, though, if this meant he saw Mnangagwa as a successor, or if this was just another example of his continuing manipulation of his party.
“Should he suddenly die or be incapacitated, however, there will be chaos,” Rajabu said, adding that the military would step in and put Mnangagwa as leader.
Mujuru is now gone but though Mnangagwa is now one of Mugabe’s deputies, he is facing stiff resistance from the Young Turks and the First Lady who seems to be interested in the coveted post though she publicly denies so, just like Mnangagwa himself.
But the military is now in the open. It backs Mnangagwa.
Mugabe has told them to keep out of politics, but it is not clear who is really calling the shots because Mugabe wanted to step down in 2008 but was told by the military to stay put.
Below are all the 624 Wikileaks cables on Mugabe.
Tsvangirai Wikileaks begin tomorrow.
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