Mugabe’s removal started with soldiers entering Harare on Nov 14 and announcing in the early hours of Nov 15 that they had taken control. Military vehicles took to the streets and gunfire and explosions were heard in parts of the capital.

“It is not a military takeover of government,” said General Sibusiso Moyo, reading a statement on TV.

According to Reuters, the generals dubbed their project “Operation Restore Legacy.”

They called the move a “democratic correction” against a 93-year-old leader whose decisions, they alleged, were being manipulated by an ambitious wife half his age.

Since then, Mnangagwa has given high level and influential positions to the retired members of the armed forces who helped him get into power.

“The generals want Mnangagwa to run for one or two terms before handing over to Chiwenga,” a Nov. 29 intelligence report seen by Reuters reads.

“They want Chiwenga to be in power for two terms before handing over to the next general to be announced.”

In Mnangagwa, most of whose career has also been spent in security or intelligence, Chiwenga has a formidable rival.

But – at 14 years Mnangagwa’s junior – Chiwenga has time to play the long game for himself and his comrades in arms. – Reuters