Emmerson Mnangagwa

=== Minister of Justice: 1988–2000 ===
In 1988, President Mugabe appointed Mnangagwa [[Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs|Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs]].<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":28" /> According to a 1988 report by the U.S. embassy in Harare, Mugabe originally intended to name Mnangagwa Minister of Defence, but was persuaded not to by [[Nathan Shamuyarira]] and [[Sydney Sekeramayi]], the leaders of the "Group of 26", a clique that sought to increase the political power of members of the [[Zezuru]] people, a Shona subgroup.<ref name=":28" /> Shamuyarira and Sekeramayi objected to Mnangagwa's appointment to the post because he was Karanga, but did not oppose Mugabe's replacement appointee, [[Enos Nkala]], an Ndebele.<ref name=":28" /> Not coincidentally, Sekeramayi himself succeeded Mnangagwa as Minister of State for National Security.<ref name=":28" /> Instead, Mugabe appointed Mnangagwa Minister of Justice, succeeding [[Eddison Zvobgo]], another Karanga.<ref name=":28" /> Mnangagwa, who expected to be named Minister of Defence or [[Ministry of Home Affairs (Zimbabwe)|Minister of Home Affairs]], considered this appointment a [[demotion]], as the ministry had already completed its most important tasks under Zvobgo's leadership.<ref name=":28" /> These included drafting the constitutional amendments that abolished the 20 seats in [[Parliament of Zimbabwe|Parliament]] reserved for [[White people in Zimbabwe|whites]] and establishing an executive [[President of Zimbabwe|presidency]], which both were completed in 1987.<ref name=":28" /> Mnangagwa was initially so disappointed with his cabinet role that he considered leaving politics and entering the private sector, but he ultimately accepted the new position.<ref name=":28" />

Mnangagwa ran for reelection to Parliament in the [[1990 Zimbabwean general election|1990 election]], this time in the newly created [[Kwekwe Central|Kwekwe]] constituency.<ref name=":49">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tz1EAQAAIAAJ|title=Report on the 1990 general and presidential elections|last1=Masendeke|first1=Anthony F.|last2=Mhlaba|first2=Luke|last3=Mafico|first3=Muriel U.|date=1991|publisher=University of Zimbabwe, Dept. of Political and Administrative Studies|language=en}}</ref> ZANU–PF ran a well-publicised and organised campaign in [[Kwekwe]], holding meetings between Mnangagwa and community leaders and putting up numerous posters.<ref name=":49" /> However, there were also reports of [[voter intimidation]] and harassment, including from [[ZANU–PF Women's League|Women's League]] members, some of whom said they were coerced into joining a demonstration against the [[Zimbabwe Unity Movement]], the opposition party contesting Mnangagwa's seat.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kriger|first=Norma|date=January 2005|title=ZANU(PF) Strategies in General Elections, 1980–2000: Discourse and Coercion|journal=African Affairs|volume=104|issue=414|pages=1–34|jstor=3518631|doi=10.1093/afraf/adi016}}</ref> On election day, Mnangagwa won with 23,898 votes, while his little-known rival, ZUM candidate Sylvester Chibanda, received only 7,094 votes.<ref name=":49" /> Mnangagwa was reelected again in the [[1995 Zimbabwean parliamentary election|1995 parliamentary election]], in another race marked by voter intimidation.<ref name=":65" /> [[Election monitoring|Election monitors]] in Kwekwe reported that voters were told that if they did not vote with ZANU–PF, the ''Gukurahundi'' atrocities would be repeated against them.<ref name=":65">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sCh9CL25Ic0C|title=Country Reports on Human Rights Practices|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|year=1996|isbn=9780160524806|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=306|language=en}}</ref>[[File:Kinshasa -Gombe.JPG|thumb|Kinshasa, where Mnangagwa was often based during the Second Congo War.]]
While serving as justice minister, Mnangagwa was also acting [[List of Finance Ministers of Zimbabwe|Finance Minister]] from November 1995 to April 1996, after the previous minister, [[Bernard Chidzero]], stepped down for health reasons, and his successor [[Ariston Chambati]] died.<ref name=":4" /> He was also acting [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Zimbabwe)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] for a short period.<ref name=":4" /> In 1998, Mnangagwa was put in charge of Zimbabwe's intervention in the [[Second Congo War]], in which the [[Zimbabwe National Army]] entered the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] on the side of Congolese President [[Laurent-Désiré Kabila]].<ref name=":3" /> A 2000 article in the Zimbabwean magazine ''[[Moto (magazine)|Moto]]'' described Mnangagwa as Mugabe's [[heir apparent]], writing, "With the DRC issue at hand, it has been difficult to tell whether he is the Minister of Justice or the Minister of Defence as he has been shuttling between Harare and [[Kinshasa]]."<ref name=":30">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ywxAQAAIAAJ|title=Moto|date=2000|publisher=Mambo Press|language=en|issue=205–210}}</ref> During the war, Mnangagwa enriched himself through mineral wealth seized from the Congo.<ref name=":3" /> After [[Billy Rautenbach]], a Zimbabwean businessman, was placed in charge of [[Gécamines]], the Congolese state mining company, Mnangagwa began brokering deals between the company and Zimbabwean connections.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/1318448/Kabila-is-gone-but-diamonds-are-forever.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zimbabwe/1318448/Kabila-is-gone-but-diamonds-are-forever.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Kabila is gone but diamonds are forever|last=Blair|first=David|date=2001-01-18|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=2018-10-23|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref>