'VP is not a stepping stone to Presidency in Zimbabwe'

The succession issue in Zimbabwe is a hot potato. It has been for a long time. But now there is one man, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa who is generally seen as the leading candidate to succeed President Robert Mugabe.

New Africa's Editor-at-Large Baffour Ankomah caught up with Mnangagwa, who is also the Justice Minister, and below are the interview excerpts on succession.

Question: Somebody has said that Zanu-PF as a party thrives on having enemies and that if the party has no enemies, it creates one. Is that why there is so much infighting in the party currently?

Mnangagwa: No, Zanu is democratic. If you create a democratic situation where people are allowed to think freely, people will not agree on anything, and this is where the healthiness of the party is. This is why the party has survived for 52 years now. It is because we allow internal debate. People debate, they disagree, agree, and agree to disagree. Others get thrown out. This is what it is.

But if you coerce people into one straight line, then it is like the MDC [the opposition Movement for Democratic Change]. It breaks! Now there are five MDCs, but there is just one Zanu-PF after 52 years!

Question: Lastly, some of your admirers have implied that God has preserved you [this long] for the presidency. Many people inside and outside the country see you as the leading candidate to succeed President Mugabe. Are they right?

Mnangagwa: No, they are not informed. I think they are outside Zanu-PF. Those inside Zanu-PF know that being vice president or being a member of the Politburo or Central Committee is not a stepping-stone to becoming president. Not at all. A president is elected at the party congress. There are no conditions that you must be at this level or that level to become president. The condition is that you must be a member of Zanu-PF, and anybody can become a member of Zanu-PF. So you cant say that because I am vice president or a member of the Politburo or a member of the Central Committee, I am nearer to becoming president.

You see, you can be on the road between the State House and Zim House, the president's official residence across the road. You can throw a stone into the yard of the State House when you are on that road, but someone walking from here to China will arrive first before you arrive in State House if you are on that road. So that is what it is. That is how far it is [to reach the presidency]!