Who is Emmerson Mnangagwa - Zimbabwe's 'Comeback Crocodile'

Nicknamed "Ngwena" (The Crocodile) because of his fearsome power and ruthlessness, the 75-year-old Mnangagwa last week appeared to have been outfoxed by former president Robert Mugabe's wife, Grace.

The first lady, who is 41 years younger than her husband, lobbied the veteran head of state to ditch his vice president, a long-serving lieutenant, to further her own political ambitions.

But Mnangagwa has close ties with the military, which was alarmed at Grace's rise, and the generals intervened.

It was the climax of a long feud between Grace and Mugabe's deputy to be in pole position to replace the ailing leader when he died or retired.

Mnangagwa – a long-time party loyalist and hardliner who, say some, could prove as authoritarian as Mugabe – initially fled to South Africa after his sacking.

The struggle against colonialism

Born in the southwestern Zvishavane district on September 15, 1942, Mnangagwa completed his early education in Zimbabwe before his family relocated to neighbouring Zambia.

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.

He was arrested and sentenced to death but his sentence was later commuted to 10 years in prison because of his young age.

After independence in 1980, he directed the Gukurahundi massacres – a brutal crackdown on opposition supporters that claimed thousands of lives in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces.

Strength and ruthlessness

In the early days after independence from Britain in 1980, Mugabe made Mnangagwa, who was then a young trainee lawyer, minister of national security. 

Mnangagwa thereafter occupied a host of cabinet positions – but relations between him and his political mentor were not always cosy, and the younger man was no stranger to presidential purges. 

In 2004, he lost his post as the secretary for administration in the party after being accused of openly angling for the post of vice president.

In 2008, he was made Mugabe's chief election agent and took over as head of the Joint Operations Command.

He was targeted by EU and US sanctions imposed on Mugabe and his close allies over the elections and ensuing violence, but was promptly handed control of the powerful defence ministry.

What sort of president will he be? 

In recent years, Mnangagwa has promoted himself as an experienced leader who will bring stability to Zimbabwe. But his promises to return Zimbabwe to democracy and prosperity are viewed with scepticism by many experts.

"He has successfully managed a palace coup that leaves ZANU PF and the military in charge. He's been Mugabe's bag man for decades," said Zimbabwean author and commentator Peter Godwin. 

Godwin added Mnangagwa has little of Mugabe's charisma or talent for public speaking.

"Despite his claims to be a business-friendly reformer, Zimbabweans know Mnangagwa is the architect of the Matabeland (Gukurahundi) massacres and that he abetted Mugabe's looting of the country," Africa expert for the Center for Global Development Todd Moss, said.

"Mnangagwa is part of its sad past, not its future."