Nearly eight years after the coup that brought him to power, President Emmerson Mnangagwa is facing threats from opponents within his ruling ZANU-PF party who are calling for mass protests.
Battling a decades-long economic crisis and persistent allegations of corruption, Zimbabwe's president faces the biggest threat to his hold on power since he came to power in a coup nearly eight years ago, with members of his own party calling for him to step down.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has vowed to crush dissent, telling a rally of his ZANU-PF party that calls for his resignation were a “treasonous” plot orchestrated by “chameleon-like characters”.
Tensions over the future president have brought the southern African country, which has suffered decades of political and economic instability, to the brink of another crisis, with many worried residents bracing for possible violence.
Nationwide demonstrations planned for Monday were largely quiet, with many choosing to stay home to avoid government repression.
Over the past two decades, Zimbabwe's persistent hyperinflation has left the country struggling to make its currency worth the paper it is printed on. The Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce estimates that 80 percent of the country's jobs are in the informal sector, with low pay and little security.
