Emmerson Mnangagwa

=== Early childhood: 1942–1955 ===
Dambudzo Mnangagwa was born on 15 September 1942 in Shabani (now [[Zvishavane]]), a mining town in central [[Southern Rhodesia]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/16/world/africa/emmerson-mnangagwa-zimbabwe.html|title=A Strongman Nicknamed 'Crocodile' Is Poised to Replace Mugabe|last=de Freytas-Tamura|first=Kimiko|date=16 November 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=17 November 2017|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-41995876|title=The 'crocodile' who snapped back|date=15 November 2017|newspaper=[[BBC News]]|access-date=17 November 2017|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":13">{{Cite web|url=http://www.sundaynews.co.zw/president-mnangangwas-early-days-political-career/|title=President Mnangangwa's early days, political career|date=2017-11-26|website=The Sunday News|language=en-US|access-date=2018-07-09}}</ref><ref name=":17">{{Cite news|url=http://nehandaradio.com/2015/12/30/mnangagwas-age-history-continue-to-mystify/|title=Mnangagwa's age, history continue to mystify|last=Kwaramba|first=Fungi|date=2015-12-30|work=Nehanda Radio|access-date=2018-07-09|language=en-US}}</ref> His parents, Mafidhi and Mhurai Mnangagwa, were politically active farmers.<ref name=":2" /> He belonged to a large family; his grandfather had six wives and 32 sons (daughters were not counted), and Mnanganga himself is the third of ten siblings.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Manyukwe |first=Clemence |date=2014-12-11 |title=Profile: Emmerson Mnangagwa |url=http://www.chronicle.co.zw/profile-emmerson-mnangagwa/ |access-date=2018-07-09 |website=The Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite news|url=http://www.edmnangagwa.com/family/|title=Family|date=2017-11-16|work=E.D.Mnangagwa|access-date=2018-07-09|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710102059/http://www.edmnangagwa.com/family/|archive-date=10 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> His father had two wives, having inherited his wife Mhurai's sister after the death of her husband.<ref name=":14" /> Mnangagwa thus had eight additional half-siblings who were also his cousins.<ref name=":14" /> The Mnangagwa family were members of the [[Karanga people]], the largest subgroup of Zimbabwe's majority [[Shona people|Shona]] ethnic group.<ref name=":1" />

As a child, Mnangagwa herded cattle and was permitted to visit the local chief's court, where he went to watch cases being heard in a traditional setting.<ref name=":14" /> His paternal grandfather, Mubengo Kushanduka, had a great influence on him during his formative years.<ref name=":14" /> Kushanduka had served in the court of the [[Northern Ndebele people|Ndebele]] king [[Lobengula]] and fought in the [[Second Matabele War]] in the 1890s, and Mnangagwa enjoyed listening to him tell stories.<ref name=":14" />

By the late 1940s, Mnangagwa's father Mafidhi had become the acting chief of the village.<ref name=":14" /> In 1952, a white Land Development Officer arrived and confiscated some cattle from the villagers, including from an elderly woman who was left with just three.<ref name=":14" /> In response, Mafidhi's advisors removed a wheel from the officer's [[Land Rover]], resulting in Mafidhi's arrest.<ref name=":14" /> The District Commissioner said he did not want to fight or imprison him, and told him to go to [[Northern Rhodesia]].<ref name=":14" /> He complied, settling in the town of [[Mumbwa]] with a relative.<ref name=":14" /> Several years later, he sent for the rest of his family, including Mnangagwa, to join him.<ref name=":14" /> They arrived in Mumbwa by train in 1955, and over the years more extended relatives came to join them.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":14" /><ref name=":15">{{Cite news|url=https://www.herald.co.zw/president-designate-eds-timeline/|title=President-designate ED's timeline|date=2017-11-24|work=The Herald|access-date=2018-07-09|language=en-GB}}</ref> There, Mnangagwa first met [[Robert Mugabe]] when Mugabe stayed with the Mnangagwa family for a time while working at a [[teachers' college]] in [[Lusaka]].<ref name=":8">{{Cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/emmerson-mnangagwa-zimbabwe-crocodile-171124062910487.html|title=Who is Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe's 'Crocodile'?. He murdered thousands of people from the matebeland during the gukurahundi era.|last=Marima|first=Tendai|date=24 November 2017|work=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera News]]|access-date=25 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Our Votes, Our Guns: Robert Mugabe and the Tragedy of Zimbabwe|last=Martin|first=Meredith|publisher=Public Affairs|year=2002|isbn=978-1-58648-186-5|location=New York|pages=23}}</ref> Mugabe inspired Mnangagwa to become involved in anti-colonial politics.<ref name=":10">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/world/2017/01/last-days-robert-mugabe|title=The last days of Robert Mugabe|last=Fletcher|first=Martin|date=1 January 2017|work=[[New Statesman]]|access-date=25 November 2017}}</ref>