Zimbabwe’s former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa is safe and will travel to South Africa “very soon”, the head of the war veterans Chris Mutsvangwa said on Wednesday.
According to reports earlier on Wednesday, Mnangagwa was caught trying to flee the country through the Forbes Border Post into Mozambique on Tuesday.
His family denied the reports, but sources say there was drama at Forbes Boarder Post on Tuesday and Mnangagwa’s bid to exit the country into neighbouring Mozambique was foiled.
The 75-year-old who was fired on Monday by 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe had been largely seen as Mugabe’s successor and his removal from office is a boost for Mugabe’s wife, Grace, who is now the potential successor to her husband.
Mnangagwa was accused of plotting to seize power and that he “consistently and persistently exhibited traits of disloyalty, disrespect, deceitfulness and unreliability”.
Grace Mugabe is widely expected to be named the new vice president, and from there, some predict she will be Zimbabwe’s first female president.
Mutsvangwa, a close ally of Mnangagwa, told reporters in Johannesburg that Grace was behind the purge of Mnangagwa and his allies.
