Zuma's comments were the first he has made in public since Mnangagwa emerged as the new leader of Zimbabwe following a military intervention against Mugabe.
He made them at talks with Angolan President Joao Lourenco in South Africa's capital Pretoria. Lourenco was paying a state visit to South Africa that had been previously scheduled. The two leaders did not attend Mnangagwa's inauguration in Harare. (Reporting by Alexander Winning; Editing by James Macharia)