ZAPU

Despite his money-raising role, Mr Mnangagwa, a lawyer who grew up in Zambia, has a fearsome reputation that was cemented after independence during the civil war that broke out in the 1980s between Mr Mugabe's Zanu party and the Zapu party of Joshua Nkomo.

Thousands of civilians - mainly ethnic Ndebeles, seen as Zapu supporters - were killed in a campaign known as Gukurahundi, before the two parties merged to form Zanu-PF.

In 1987, he oversaw an uneven merger of his party with Mr. Nkomo’s ZAPU, which was dissolved.

His rival’s party, Zapu, was ethnically largely Ndebele, while Zanu was predominantly Shona.

"People were told there were magic binoculars which could tell which way they voted and there were no-go areas for other parties," said Mr Dabengwa, whose Zapu party came a distant second in 1980.