Emmerson Mnangagwa has survived exile, prison, sacking and at least three attempts to kill him. The man who replaced Robert Mugabe as president of Zimbabwe on Friday has done so through a mixture of endurance, loyalty and — when he was fired by the man he had faithfully served for half a century — just the right amount of ruthlessness.
He nearly fell at the first hurdle, or rather swung from the first noose. In his early 20s and part of the “Crocodile Gang” fighting white minority oppression in what was then Southern Rhodesia, Mr Mnangagwa was due to be hanged after attempting to derail a train near Victoria Falls. Only by lying about his age did he avoid execution.
In prison, he was tortured, hung upside down from metal hooks, electrocuted and beaten. It was in the cells that he first met Mr Mugabe, himself serving a 10-year sentence. The story goes that the erudite Mr Mugabe encouraged Mr Mnangagwa to study law.