Mnangagwa, Chiwenga roles conflict

Potential conflict and possibly a constitutional crisis might emerge if President Emmerson Mnangagwa does not deal with overlapping responsibilities between him and his equally powerful deputy, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, analysts warned this week.

This followed last week's haste decision by the former commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces who led a military campaign that dethroned former president Robert Mugabe, to dismiss an estimated 15 000 nurses for taking part in an industrial action.

Last week, Mnangagwa subtly reversed the retired general's decision, encouraging all the supposedly fired nurses to reapply, but analysts said that does not explain why the new vice president believed he could act in such a way in the first place.