Zimbabwe unity government's likely players

Robert Mugabe Photo:Courtesy

Zimbabwe’s army appears to be pushing for a quick and bloodless end to 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe’s 37 years in power, to be replaced by a national unity government headed by his former deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa.

According to political sources in Harare, Mugabe - now under house arrest in his lavish Harare home - was resisting pressure to stand down voluntarily.

Assuming he does, the following are likely to be key players in the expected settlement, according to political sources in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and several years of Zimbabwean intelligence documents seen by Reuters:

Emmerson Mnangagwa (likely president). A lifelong Mugabe aide and 1970s liberation war veteran known as “The Crocodile”, Mnangagwa, 75, was in pole position to succeed Mugabe until his progress was impeded by the dramatic political ascent of Mugabe’s wife, Grace.

His sacking as vice-president this month cleared a path for Grace to the presidency and appears to have been the trigger for the army to step in to advance its preferred successor.

Morgan Tsvangirai (likely prime minister). A former union leader who founded the Movement for Democratic Change in the late 1990s, Tsvangirai, 65, has been Mugabe’s main political rival for two decades.

He served as prime minister in a 2009-2013 unity government formed after violence-ridden elections in 2008.

Constantino Chiwenga (possible vice president). As the military chief who pulled the trigger on the coup, Chiwenga is expected to win a senior role in the interim administration.

Joice Mujuru (possible vice president). A liberation war veteran with the nom de guerre “Spill Blood”, Mujuru formed her own political party after being ousted as vice president in 2014.

Dumiso Dabengwa (possible vice president). Moscow-trained Dabengwa, 77, nicknamed “The Black Russian”, fought in the 1970s anti-colonial struggle for Zimbabwe People’s Liberation Army, a rival to Mugabe’s outfit