Zimbabwe’s ousted VP flees after ‘threats’

Bloomberg

Former Zimbabwean Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa fled the southern African nation because of “incessant threats” against him and his family two days after he was fired by President Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa said in a statement that he never planned to harm Mugabe, who he’s been supporting for more than four decades, and pledged to work to establish a “new and progressive leadership” in the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front. “You and your cohorts will instead leave Zanu-PF by the will of the people and this we will do in the coming few weeks,” he told Mugabe.
Mnangagwa fled to neighboring South Africa, according to a person familiar with the situation who declined to be identified because the politician’s whereabouts have not been publicly disclosed. Zanu-PF expelled Mnangagwa, party spokesman Simon Kaya Moyo said after a meeting of the politburo in the capital, Harare.
His dismissal marked a dramatic shift in politics in Zimbabwe, where he had been a pillar of a military and security apparatus that helped Mugabe emerge as the nation’s leader after independence from the UK in 1980. He was Zimbabwe’s first national security minister.
Now Mugabe has broken with most of his comrades who fought in the liberation war, leaving the so-called Generation 40 faction of younger members of the ruling party championed by his wife, Grace Mugabe, in the ascendancy. The final outcome of the power struggle could be determined by the military and the stance of the 61-year-old commander of the army, Constantine Chiwenga, who traditionally supported Mnangagwa. Mugabe said he fired Mnangagwa because he was plotting against the government.
“We dealt with him and hope we can deal with others who were conspirators alongside him,” Mugabe told party supporters in Harare. “They should be dealt with and thrown out.” The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association condemned Mnangagwa’s dismissal and said it was breaking with the ruling party.
“The party and indeed the nation is being traumatized by one person, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, who is bent on maintaining his hold on power and ensuring that he passes on this power to his wife in a dynastic fashion,” the group said in a statement.