Five men, including a former member of the Zimbabwe National Army, have been arrested and charged with treason for plotting to topple President Robert Mugabe, court papers obtained by Reuters showed on Saturday. The five - who all deny the charges - appeared before a Harare High Court judge on Friday to apply for bail but the case was postponed to June 22.
Prosecutors said the group wanted to replace Mugabe with Rural Housing and Social Amenities Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa and the plot's leader, former soldier Albert Matapo, would have been prime minister.
Mnangagwa, who was not among those arrested, was unavailable for comment on Saturday but was quoted in the private newspaper The Independent on Friday as saying any suggestion he was linked to the plotters was "stupid".
The state charge sheet said: "The accused wanted to use soldiers to take over the government and all camps, and be in control of the nation after which he (Matapo) would announce to the nation that he was in control of the government and would invite the Minister Mnangagwa and the service chiefs to form a government."
Analysts say the mention of Mnangagwa's name could be part of internal fighting within the ruling ZANU-PF party, which remains deeply divided over who will succeed Mugabe.