Is Mnangagwa already running the country?

A South African-based researcher and lawyer Derek Matyszak says it is difficult to tell who is actually running the government of Zimbabwe as many of the decisions are now being made by the Office of the President and Cabinet which is run by a relative of Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“Mugabe appears so frail that it doesn’t’ look like he can juggle between intricate manoeuvres needed to keep things in keel,” Matyszak told a seminar in Pretoria this last week which was entitled:  Is Zimbabwe any closer to regime change?

The secretary to the President and Cabinet is Misheck Sibanda.

 “They claim to be passing on Mugabe’s instructions, but actually they are passing on their own instructions,” Matyszak said.

Some people have questioned some of the decisions ostensibly made by Mugabe lately because they only expose him and the First Lady as too nepotistic.

One of the appointments was that of Simba Chikore, husband of Bona, Mugabe’s only daughter and eldest child, as chief operating officer of the troubled national Air Zimbabwe.

One observer said Chikore is set for failure no matter how good he might have been as a pilot and this will only make the First family look like they are trying to create a family dynasty.

A lot of people were also baffled by the appointment of Bona to the Censorship Board, as it looked like she was going to be the gatekeeper of the family secrets yet she knows more about money than the media.

Matyszak said it appeared that Mugabe, Grace and Mnangagwa had reached a deal where Mnangagwa would succeed Mugabe but protect the First Lady.

He said this probably explained why the Women’s League, which the First Lady leads, had suddenly become quiet about reserving one of the vice-presidents’ post for a woman.

Mnangagwa, he said, was now literally running the country and was helped by the State media which no longer hid Mugabe’s fraility.

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