Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa
Cde Emmarson Mnangagwa, is the former Vice President of Zimbabwe. Like most government officials, Mnangagwa has liberation war credentials and is known for his dependability and long service in government which probably played a part in his appointment as Vice President. The Vice President, a lawyer, is well-acquainted with security issues having served a Defence Minister, State Security Minister and Justice Minister.
Born Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa on September 15, 1946, he was nicknamed “Ngwenya” (The Crocodile) after the “Crocodile Gang”, a special sabotage unit during the country’s war of independence. In 1965, Cde Mnangagwa with another comrade, Matthews Malowa, bombed a goods train near Masvingo.
Cde Mnangagwa was among the first group of people to be trained in the early 1960s for the armed insurgency against Zimbabwe’s racist minority rulers which culminated in the country’s independence in 1980.
He received training in Tanzania, Egypt and China. In China, Cde Mnangagwa attended a school of ideology and had a stint at another for military engineering.
He led units that were responsible for carrying out sabotage on the enemy’s economic infrastructure. He blew up a train in Masvingo, unfortunately, he was arrested.
Following his arrest in January 1965, he was forced to confess to blowing up the locomotive. He was only spared the hangman’s noose after his lawyer successfully argued that he was underage.
The ordeal had a lasting impact on him and up to this day, he opposes capital punishment and wants it abolished. His life spared, Cde Mnangagwa spent 10 years in jail and was once detained with nationalists such as President Mugabe, Cdes Enos Nkala, Maurice Nyagumbo and Edgar Tekere.
When he was released, he was deported to Zambia where his parents were based after relocating there in 1955, fleeing oppression by the country’s white rulers.
Now
Cde Mnangagwa is now married to Auxillia, his third wife, and they have three children together – Emmerson Junior, Collin and Sean. He has other children from his first two marriages, including daughters Chido Emma, Farai Celine and Justine Mhurai.
Cde Mnangagwa is a family man. He comes from a very large family. He’s known for never acknowledging his sisters. He says, his grandfather had 32 boys, including his father. He never counted the girls, his longtime friend, Cde Moyo says.
He takes care of his family. He has taken a large number of his family members to university.
According to Cde Moyo, when Mnangagwa was released from prison, he was encouraged by President Mugabe to study. He later studied law at the University of London.
After independence in 1980, Cde Mnangagwa served in various portfolios in both the party and government. He was Minister of State Security; Defence; Housing as well as a secretary of justice.
From 2000 to 2005, he was the country’s Speaker of Parliament.
In 2004, while serving as Zanu-PF’s secretary for administration, he was set to become the party’s Vice President but was asked at the eleventh hour to step aside for a female candidate: outgoing VP Joice Mujuru. During that year’s Party Congress, he emerged as secretary for justice, which was considered as a demotion.
In that political setback, he proved that he was loyal to the party and would not let his emotions get over him.
He took his medicine in silence and waited for his chance.
Mnangagwa took the setback magnanimously and was able to embrace VP Mujuru when she was elected and he continued to work for the party. In the intervening years, ex-VP Mujuru and her backers made numerous political blunders that saw President Mugabe dumping her in favour of Cde Mnangagwa.
According to Former Zanu-PF Zvishavane Ngezi MP Cde Larry Mavhima, Vice President Mnangagwa would like to see the accelerated economic empowerment of Zimbabweans, not just a select few.
