President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s involvement in the Gukurahundi atrocities, coupled with his realisation that he could not win elections, led him to orchestrate a coup that overthrew his predecessor, the late Robert Mugabe, former Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) deputy director Lovemore Mukandi has claimed.
Mnangagwa was the State Security Minister during the Gukurahundi genocide.
Mukandi has alleged that Mnangagwa orchestrated the 2017 coup to avoid prosecution for his role in the Gukurahundi genocide. The military coup, carried out by the current Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, was a plan hatched since 1980’s, according to Mukandi.
He said that Mnangagwa feared being held accountable for the atrocities committed in Matabeleland, where 20,000 mainly Ndebele-speaking people were killed by the North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade led by its late commander Perrance Shiri.
Mukandi further pointed out that Mugabe had already indicated Sydney Sekeramayi as his preferred successor, posing a threat to Mnangagwa’s power.
“This was long planned in the 1980s because Mnangagwa wanted to rule but realised he would not win elections,” Mukandi said.
“Regards the timing, we have to go back to atrocities committed in Matabeleland. The Fifth Brigade was being commanded by Shiri, and Chiwenga was commanding a brigade in the Midlands or Matabeleland province where these atrocities took place.
“You would find that Shiri, Chiwenga and some top officials in the CIO including Shirihuru and Muzariri were all involved in those atrocities and all reported to Mnangagwa who was coordinating them.
“There was this fear among them arising from the fact that there was an outcry about this genocide that had been committed in Matabeleland and it was known to this group of people; Mnangagwa, Shiri, Chiwenga, Shirihuru, Muzariri among others that one day they might have to account for these atrocities.
“Their fear was that they might face prosecution in future for these atrocities.”
Mukandi, author of “How Emmerson Mnangagwa Blindsided Robert Mugabe and Grabbed Zimbabwe,” shared insights into Zimbabwe’s complex political landscape during an online interview promoting his book.
