ZIMBABWE NETZWERK e.V.

The UK needs to stay out of Zimbabwe's succession politics

Blessing-Miles Tendi writes in African Arguments: " Whether the UK favours Mnangagwa over Mugabe and Chamisa over Tsvangirai is immaterial. What matters is that it remains a disinterested bystander.

Last week, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai sparked controversy in Zimbabwe when he claimed that foreign diplomats he'd spoken to had revealed a preference over who the country's next president should be. Speaking to journalists, the MDC-T party leader said: "I was with one of the ambassadors [in Harare] who was talking about [Vice-President Emmerson] Mnangagwa being a pragmatist".

Tsvangirai's suggestion that Western diplomats favour Mnangagwa made headline news in Zimbabwe and re-energised debates about who will eventually succeed the 91-year-old President Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa, a seasoned minister within the ruling ZANU-PF, is seen as one of the most likely candidates. ...".