Zimbabwean Deputy President Emmerson Mnangagwa has rejected claims that there are factions within the ruling Zanu-PF party.

According to New Zimbabwe, Mnangagwa denied media reports of factionalism within the party, saying he only read about it in the press.

"In Zanu PF, we are very comfortable and we are brothers and comrades, but we read about these things you are talking about in the press and I do not know where you get them from," Mnangagwa was quoted as saying.

Mnangagwa is tipped as the successor to President Robert Mugabe, 91, when he eventually leaves office.

However, a group of Young Turks known as Generation 40, allegedly led by Higher Education Minister Jonathan Moyo, is against his ascendancy to the presidency.

Moyo has, over the past months, come under fire for fanning factionalism and using his Twitter account to attack other party members, including Mnangagwa.

G40 is reportedly backing First Lady Grace Mugabe to take over from her nonagenarian husband.

However, according to the state-owned Herald newspaper, the alleged backers of Mnangagwa - the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) - claimed they had exposed Moyo and it was left for Mugabe to decide on his fate.

"He (Moyo) is no longer a subject. He is a dead donkey and to continue talking about him will be giving him unnecessary relevance. We have exposed him and now it is up to the president to make a decision," ZNLWVA secretary general Victor Matemadanda was quoted as saying.

News24.com