Mnangagwa, Chamisa talks looming

Mnangagwa, Chamisa talks looming.The much needed direct between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa edged closer yesterday after Zanu-PF welcomed the MDC's decision to drop its demands for foreign mediation in the

Zimbabwe crisis.Chamisa is toning down on one of his key demands for dialogue with President Mnangagwa - to have an external mediator and is now open to either a local cleric or retired judge mediating such talks, the Daily News reports.This comes as relations between authorities and Chamisa are widely accepted to be at an all-time low  following the continuing clampdown by police on the MDC and its officials.But despite this tension, behind-the-scenes and indirect 'talks about the talks' appear to be gathering pace with Chamisa now saying that he will accept mediation by "neutral" locals.MDC spokesperson

Daniel Molokele said at the weekend that the party would be comfortable with an independent judge or clergyman mediating the mooted dialogue.Chamisa and the MDC have previously insisted that any talks with Mnangagwa be held on condition that they are brokered by a respectable external mediator.Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo was at one time touted as a potential candidate for this role after Chamisa held talks with him in the

West African nation - and after the retired statesman also held private talks with Mnangagwa in the capital recently.ZANU PF Secretary for Administration Dr Obert Mpofu has dismissed rumours that Minister of Defence Oppah Muchinguri is set to replace General Constantino Chiwenga as Vice President during the ZANU PF Peoples Conference.Reports that were making rounds on social media suggested that Muchinguri was set to take over the job of number 2 as

Chiwenga is known.Speaking to NewZimbabwe, Mpofu dismissed the reports as a myth as no such endorsements had been made by the party's provinces."How can you believe such a myth. We don't have such," Mpofu said. "Our nominations are done by all provinces and it is about the president nobody else.Earlier this year self-styled strategist William Gerald Mutumanje said Oppah was the first choice of Vice Presidency.Said Lumumba, "

There is a voice silent in all this but playing a very smart calculative game. ZANU PF will self-preserve, they will do the needful to stay in power, but like musical chairs, one must go to save one.Don't underrate Oppah's ability to navigate the game. She was 1st choice VP.".Early this year, Mnangagwa redeployed personnel in the Presidential Guard and

 Mechanised Brigade, where senior commanders and troops, who played critical roles in the coup, were shifted or removed.Senior commanders who have since been retired and posted to diplomatic missions include Major-General Anselem Sanyatwe, who was commander of the Presidential Guard; former Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) chief-of-staff (administration) Douglas Nyikayaramba, chief-of-staff responsible for service personnel and logistics, Major-General Martin Chedondo, and Air Vice-Marshal Sheba Shumbayawonda.