Robert Mugabe sacks vice president

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has sacked his vice president, in a move that would clear the path for his wife, Grace Mugabi, to succeed him.

Mugabe removed vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa after accusing him of disloyalty, according to Information Minister Simon Khaya Moyo.

"The vice president has consistently and persistently exhibited traits of disloyalty, disrespect, deceitfulness and unreliability," Khaya Moyo said.

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Mnangagwa’s removal from office threatens to further split the ruling Zanu-PF party, as the former vice president had the support of Zimbabwe’s security establishment.

“Some army generals backed Mnangagwa to succeed Mugabe and have publicly said they will not allow someone who did not fight in the 1970s independence war to rule — Ms Mugabe did not fight in that war,” the ABC says.

Grace Mugabe has been involved in a very public feud with Mnangagwa for several months, and is seen as a polarising figure in Zimbabwean politics.

“The first lady is far from a popular figure in Zimbabwe. Her image has suffered after an alleged assault on a model she found in the company of her sons in a luxury apartment in Johannesburg, South Africa,” The Guardian says.