Sacked Zimbabwe vice president goes into exile, vows to defy Mugabe

Zimbabwe's sacked vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, said Wednesday he had fled the country, as he issued a direct challenge to long-ruling President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace.

The ruling ZANU-PF party "is not personal property for you and your wife to do as you please," Mnangagwa said in an angry five-page statement, vowing he would return to Zimbabwe to lead party members.

Mnangagwa was the foremost contender to succeed Mugabe, 93, but his abrupt removal appeared to clear the way for Grace to take over as president.

His vow to fight back marked a new level of political instability in Zimbabwe, where Mugabe, who is in increasingly frail health, has ruled unopposed for decades.

"(ZANU-PF) is now a party controlled by undisciplined, egotistical and self-serving minnows who derive their power not from the people and party but from only two individuals in the form of the First Family," Mnangagwa said.

Mnangagwa, 75, had been one of the president's closest allies since Mugabe took power in 1980 after leading the fight against British rule.

He was sacked on Monday following weeks of public clashes with Mugabe and Grace.