Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa is to take over as Zimbabwe’s leader within 48 hours after President Robert Mugabe resigned, an official of the ruling Zanu-PF party has confirmed.
Party chief whip Lovemore Matuke says Mnangagwa, who fled the country after being fired by Mugabe, ‘is not far from here.’
The official spoke immediately after the Parliament speaker announced Mugabe’s immediate resignation during impeachment proceedings.
Matuke says they look forward to Mugabe doing the handover of power ‘so that Mnangagwa moves with speed to work for the country.’
Known as ‘The Crocodile’, Mnangagwa, 75, is a notorious and much-feared figure in Zimbabwe, having led a vicious crackdown on opponents in the 1980s with the help of the dreaded North Korean-trained Fifth Army brigade.
Emmerson Mnangagwa fled the country after being fired  by Robert Mugabe but is not set to take over as President of Zimbabwe after the Mugabe finally resigned
Mugabe had accused his former deputy of plotting to take power from him, while his ambitious wife Grace referred to him as a snake that ‘must be hit on the head’ after the two clashed. Pictured right:Â Mnangagwa with Mugabe in 2004
Mnangagwa’s reputation for cruelty is so legendary that he was one of the few leaders of Zimbabwe known to drive around the country without security. Pictured: The former vice president claps after being presented with a fake crocodile as homage to his nickname
First Lady: Grace Mugabe, 52, pictured with her husband, has been seen as being a successor to her husband after her opponent was fired. The struggle between Grace and Mnangagwa to succeed 93-year-old Mugabe seems to have been decided in the Crocodile’s favour
Thousands of civilians were killed during the Gukurahundi campaign, but Mnangagwa has always denied involvement.
His reputation for cruelty is so legendary that he was one of the few leaders of Zimbabwe known to drive around the country without security.
Mnangagwa (pictured with Mugabe), 75, has had a long and varied political career, leading at one point the justice, defence, housing and finance ministries as well as being the speaker of the lower house and spymaster
He is also known for his unpredictable darting eyes and is understood to be a Chelsea supporter due to his admiration of the club’s former striker Didier Drogba.
He has had a long and varied political career, leading at one point the justice, defence, housing and finance ministries as well as being the speaker of the lower house and a spymaster.
Mnangagwa was widely viewed as Mugabe’s successor until he was ditched by the president last week and fled to South Africa.
Mugabe had accused his former deputy of plotting to take power from him, while his ambitious wife Grace referred to him as a snake that ‘must be hit on the head’ after the two clashed.
But Mnangagwa, who recently survived a poisoning attempt blamed on ice-cream from Mugabe’s own dairy, has been telling allies he would return rapidly and everything would soon be ‘sorted’.
In 1983, Mnangagwa led a major crackdown in Matabeleland, in the southwest of Zimbabwe. Tens of thousands of people were killed. Pictured: Bodies found in Matabeleland after the massacre
Zimbabweans sitting in front of Salibury prison (where Mugabe and Mnangagwa met and forged their political alliance) in 1968 after the triple hanging of James Dhlamini, Victor Mlambo and Duly Shadrack, was ordered by Ian Smith’s government – despite Queen Elizabeth II issuing a royal reprieve
Mnangagwa was mentioned by, among others, the tycoon Roland Rowland at the time of the Gukurahundi massacres. Pictured: Mugabe (centre) and Mnangagwa (right) together
He is a leader of the so-called ‘Lacoste’ faction – named after the clothes firm’s crocodile logo, which matches Mnangagwa’s reptilian nickname – within Mugabe’s party. The group enjoys strong support among military figures. Pictured: Mugabe with Mnangagwa
University of London-educated Mnangagwa has been close to Mugabe since the two were involved in the struggle against racist white-minority rule in then-Rhodesia. Pictured:Â Mnangagwa (right) being sworn in as vice president by Mugabe (left) in 2014
Mnangagwa was sentenced to ten years in jail, being kept at Salisbury Prison, Grey Prison, Khami Prison and Harare Prison. While imprisoned in Salisbury (later renamed Harare), he became close to Mugabe and other nationalist leaders. Pictured: Mnangagwa with Mugabe and Josiah Tongogara, a guerrilla commander
He is a leader of the so-called ‘Lacoste’ faction – named after the clothes firm’s crocodile logo, which matches Mnangagwa’s reptilian nickname – within Mugabe’s party. The group enjoys strong support among military figures.
It is locked in a struggle with Grace’s G40 group.
With the events of today, the struggle between Grace and Mnangagwa to succeed 93-year-old Mugabe has shifted in the Crocodile’s favour.
Born in the southwestern Zvishavana district on September 15, 1942, he completed his early education in Zimbabwe before his family relocated to neighbouring Zambia.
His grandfather was a traditional leader and his father a political agitator for the repeal of colonial laws that disadvantaged blacks.
In 1966, Mnangagwa joined the struggle for independence from Britain, becoming one of the young combatants who helped direct the war after undergoing training in China and Egypt.
University of London-educated Mnangagwa has been close to Mugabe since the two were side-by-side in the struggle against racist white-minority rule in then-Rhodesia.
Not long after ZANU-PF, modern Zimbabwe’s ruling party, was formed in 1963 Mnangagwa was sent for military training in Communist China.
He earned his ‘Crocodile’ nickname when he returned to Zimbabwe and led a gang of fighters called the ‘Crocodile Group’ during the civil war.
The gang blew up several trains during their operations against the Rhodesian government and, as a consequence, Mnangagwa was arrested in 1965.
He confessed to revolutionary activity and was savagely tortured, but escaped the death penalty after successfully arguing that, because he was under 21, he should not be executed.
Instead, he was sentenced to ten years in jail, being kept at Salisbury Prison, Grey Prison, Khami Prison and Harare Prison.
Members of the black nationalist guerrillas of the Zimbabwe African Liberation Army (ZALA), led by Robert Mugabe, stage a rally on February 6, 1980
Pictured: Opponents of white rule demonstrate at a rally in Zimbabwe in 1980, the same year Robert Mugabe won power and became prime minister
While imprisoned in Salisbury (later renamed Harare), he became close to Mugabe and other nationalist leaders.
After being deported to Zambia, Mnangagwa studied law and – in the late 1970s – became a senior member of ZANU-PF.
When Zimbabwe became independent in 1980, Mnangagwa was named as Prime Minister Mugabe’s national security chief.
Seven years later, when Mugabe made himself president, Mnangagwa was made justice minister.
His loyalty to Mugabe was rewarded in 2000 when, having lost his seat in parliament, he was appointed to an unelected seat and made speaker of the lower house
He is a notorious and much-feared figure in Zimbabwe, having led a vicious crackdown on opponents in the 1980s with the help of the dreaded North Korean-trained Fifth Army brigade. Pictured:Â Mnangagwa with his wife Auxilia in January -Dailymail