Zimbabwe military authority are working to put in place an interim government that will lead the country till elections, The Independent reports.
Mnangagwa, the vice president sacked by Mugabe, who fled to South Africa last week, is the military’s preferred candidate.
Leading opposition leader and former prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, was also being considered by the generals to deputise Mnangagwa.
Tsvangirai worked with Mugabe between 2009 and 2013 in a unity government that temporarily revived Zimbabwe’s economy.
He has been in South African hospital for close to a month over an illness.
Meanwhile, opposition politicians cautiously welcome the army intervention.
“Are the starving and suffering people of Zimbabwe expected to feel sorry for Mugabe and his dynasty? Certainly not,” said former deputy prime minister Arthur Mutambara.
“What is important now is to answer the question: ‘How do we collectively work together to reconstruct our country from the ashes that President Mugabe has bequeathed us.
“It is time for thorough reflection, national leadership, vision and strategy.”
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