Mnangagwa wanted to beat up Mugabe over Home Affairs Ministry in 2008

According to leaked United States embassy communications, The Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa "grabbed President Robert Mugabe by the lapels" during a heated argument in 2008.

According to McGee, Mnangagwa and Mugabe squared off over the latter's plans to give away the Home Affairs portfolio to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC-T party during negotiations for a power sharing government.

In the end, Zanu PF and MDC-T agreed to appoint a minister each to share the portfolio.

In a cable marked 'Confidential', McGee said: "Mugabe leads a fractured party and he is trying to satisfy key individuals and groups. Rumours circulated last week that he and Emmerson Mnangagwa were involved in a heated argument over the possibility of ceding Home Affairs to the MDC.

"According to these rumours, Mnangagwa grabbed Mugabe by the lapels at which point Mugabe's bodyguards forcibly subdued Mnangagwa, injuring him to the point that he was hospitalised.

"We have been unable to confirm the physical altercation; nevertheless, there appears to have been a serious rift between Mugabe and Mnangagwa over the allocation of ministries. Mnangagwa is loathe to allow any of the security apparatus to pass to the MDC."

Citing sources, McGee added that "defence forces chief Constantine Chiwenga and Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono are opposed to the MDC assuming responsibility for Home Affairs. They fear the ministry and police would investigate them for corrupt activities."

In an October 2, 2008, memo to Washington released by WikiLeaks, former US ambassador to Zimbabwe James MacGee admitted he had been unable to confirm the "physical altercation", but was persuaded that there appeared to be a "serious rift" between the two men.

The account of Mnangagwa's confrontation with Mugabe has been met with incredulity by both supporters and political opponents of Mugabe and Mnangagwa.