The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
– Anti-colonial fighter –
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.
He was part of a group that carried out several raids against government facilities, including blowing up a train near the southeastern town of Masvingo.
He was arrested and sentenced to death but his sentence was later commuted to 10 years in prison because of his young age.
– ‘Destroy and kill’ –
After independence in 1980, he directed a crackdown on opposition supporters that claimed thousands of lives in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces.
His role in the crackdown, stern demeanour and uncompromising language earned him a fearsome reputation.
He once remarked that he had been taught to “destroy and kill” — although he later claimed to be a born-again Christian.
“How this will end will be dependent on the reaction of Mnangagwa’s allies, the army and Mnangagwa himself. Whatever the outcome we hope this does not degenerate into anarchy,” said Takavafira Zhou, a political analyst at Masvingo State University, following the firing.
Zhou previously described Mnangagwa as “a hardliner to the core”.
“He calls himself soft as wool and wants to portray himself as a soft and diplomatic person but the truth is he is a hardliner,” Zhou told AFP.
Mnangagwa will apparently not need to worry about his income after being fired from government.
A US diplomatic cable published by WikiLeaks in 2008 claimed Mnangagwa had amassed “extraordinary wealth” during Zimbabwe’s 1998 intervention in gold and diamond-rich Democratic Republic of Congo.
