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Meet the man who may be the next President of Zimbabwe

Mnangagwa is 75 years old and known for his speaking few words with more actions.

Mnangagwa was sacked by Mugabe on November 8, 2017, and fled the southern African country claiming a threat to his life. His sack has triggered a military action by the army to seize power and confine Mr Mugabe to his house.

According to undisclosed sources, Mr Robert Mugabe is expected to tender a letter of resignation on Thursday, November 16, 2017, and a new government which would be led by Mr Mnangagwa will be in place.

At present, the 75-year old Mnangagwa, popularly known as “The Crocodile”, has landed at Manyame Airforce Baseto take control of the country’s government.

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Emmerson Mnangagwa was born on September 15, 1946, and is nicknamed "Ngwena," or "The Crocodile." He was both educated in Rhodesia and Zambia before returning to join the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) in 1962.

In August of that year, he joined the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), which had just been formed back in Zimbabwe. This led to his detention by Egyptian authorities who recognised ZAPU.

It was during this detention period that he met Robert Mugabe who helped secure his release. He was later incorporated into the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) cadres and sent to China for guerilla warfare training.

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He spent another time at a Chinese school of military engineering in Nanking.

Upon his return, he earned his nickname by leading a group of fighters called the 'Crocodile Gang' during the country's war of independence.

Mnangagwa was arrested and sentenced to death for blowing up several trains in Rhodesia. He, however, escaped the penalty as he was less than 21 years. Upon release, Mnangagwa was deported to Zambia where he studied law.

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Mnangagwa was made Zimbabwe’s first minister of national security upon Independence in 1980. During this time, he was accused of playing a major role in the Gukurahundi massacres- where 20,000 civilians were killed.

In 2000, he became the country’s speaker of the parliament. He lost the parliamentary election, but Mugabe appointed him to one of the unelected seats in the parliament.

He was credited with masterminding Mugabe's presidential campaign in 2008. The Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the first round of the election, but the second round was marred by violence which made Tsvangirai pull out of the process.

Mugabe was re-elected and Mnangagwa became the defence minister.

In 2014, Mnangagwa was appointed Zimbabwe’s deputy President after Joice Mujuru’s fallout with Mugabe. Joice Mujuru was accused of planning to kill the president and Grace Mugabe.

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Until, November 7, 2017, Mnangagwa was the first vice president of Zimbabwe and has been posted to be the one to take over from Mugabe.

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