A close ally of President Emmerson Mnangagwa said that they would respond in kind after a report claimed that the military was planning to push him out of office Mugabe-style.
Spotlight Zimbabwe reported on Friday that former military boss, Constantino Chiwenga and a faction of hardliners in ZANU PF were putting together a plan to force Mnangagwa out of office. The Spotlight report reads in part:
Combative Vice President, Rtd General Constantino Chiwenga, and a hardline military faction backing his political doctrine and ambitions are reportedly on the verge of booting President Emmerson Mnangagwa out of office at any moment now, through another subtle military intervention, allegedly called ‘Operation Restore Economy.
Former Harare East MP, who also served as the deputy minister of finance and considered a close ally of Mnangagwa said that the same strategy could not be employed twice.
Writing on microblogging site Twitter, with a short video of Major General Sibusiso Moyo speaking in a Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) broadcast when he announced the army’s intervention on November 15, 2017, Mukupe said:
You can’t employ the same strategy twice. Good luck to you daydreamers. We will respond in kind.
https://twitter.com/tmukupe/status/1132001882665308161
Mukupe was apparently referring to “Operation Restore Legacy”, a euphemism for the November 2017 military coup which led to the ouster of the then President Robert Mugabe.
The report further claims that Mnangagwa will be forced out through any one of three ways;
The first is a recall by the party (Zanu PF), allowing Chiwenga to replace him in the fashion and manner the ANC dealt with Jacob Zuma in February 2018; an impeachment parliamentary process over the deteriorating economy; or call for his arraignment in the killing of innocent protesters in August 2018 and early this year.