With or without Mugabe, Zimbabwe still hostage to nationalism

Harare, Zimbabwe: When veteran Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe sacked his vice-president in front of 12,000 baying party members last week, Emmerson Mnangagwa sat quietly in the crowd, a green baseball cap pulled low over his eyes.

The man who stood to gain most from the departure of Joice Mujuru betrayed nothing by his face and gentle clapping -- a survival tactic honed during five decades of service from teenage guerilla to minister of defense, finance and justice for the mercurial now 90-year-old Mugabe.