By Paul Nyathi|President Emmerson Mnangagwa says that he does not fit the characteristics of his nickname “Ngwena” for crocodile, describing himself as soft as wool.

Asked in an interview by the BBC if his nickname crocodile (Ngwena) portrayed his character as similar to that of the reptile, which is patient and ruthless, Mnangagwa described himself as soft as wool,a Christian and family person.

He said people should look at what he was currently doing for the country, not what the old dispensation, which he was also part of, did.

“You have read so much bad publicity by my enemies, which has sunk into you. I don’t blame you, but as we relate more you’ll discover that those people were wrong.

“The people of Zimbabwe should believe what I am doing not the perceptions they have. In the past we had traffic roadblocks all over, but I’ve removed all those. We have also opened political space, which has seen the country having 133 political parties. This is factual, not a perception,” said President Mnangagwa.

Mnangagwa made the passionate plea in an interview with the BBC’s Fegarl Keane on Tuesday in which he said members of the G40 cabal were behind his attempted assassination at Bulawayo’s White City Stadium last Saturday.

“My hunch without evidence is that the people who are aggrieved by the new dispensation are the G40. That’s a logical and reasonable conclusion one may make but we have to wait for evidence to be brought forward and we pin down the responsible persons and the reasons why they did it.

“I think this is a political action by some people aggrieved by the current democratic dispensation in the country,” said President Mnangagwa.

Asked whether he trusted Mrs Mugabe, the President said: “On what basis would I trust somebody who was used by a cabal to say things which had no basis at all? I have sympathy for her because in my view she was politically immature and easily used as a tool by those who wanted to get at me.”

President Mnangagwa said there would be no countrywide security clampdown and elections scheduled for next month will go ahead in a free and fair manner.

“There’s no need for us to say there would be a security clampdown or putting the country into security alert. This is a criminal activity, which doesn’t bring any dent to the stability and the law and order of our country.

“However, we must make sure the population is protected and we hunt down these criminals. It is only after apprehending them that we will assess the extent to which the network spreads,” said President Mnangagwa.

In the region, he added, Zimbabwe was the most stable country in terms of law and order and foreign investors had no reason to worry.

“Foreign investors are still safe and there is no reason for anybody to worry about an incident at a rally,” he said.