After independence , Mnangagwa held a series of senior Cabinet positions under Mugabe . From 1980 to 1988 , he was the country 's first Minister of State Security , and oversaw the Central Intelligence Organisation . His role in the '' Gukurahundi '' massacres , in which thousands of Ndebele civilians were killed and which occurred during his tenure , is controversial . Mnangagwa was Minister of Justice , Legal and Parliamentary Affairs from 1989 to 2000 and then served as Speaker of the Parliament from 2000 to 2005 , when he was demoted to Minister of Rural Housing for openly jockeying to succeed the aging Mugabe . He returned to favour during the 2008 general election , in which he ran Mugabe 's campaign , orchestrating political violence against the opposition Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai . Mnangagwa served as Minister of Defence from 2009 until 2013 , when he became Minister of Justice again . He was also appointed First Vice-President in 2014 and was widely considered to be a leading candidate to succeed Mugabe
Gukurahundi
Gukurahundi
Emmerson Mnangagwa