On 6 November 2017, Mnangagwa was dismissed as vice-president by Mugabe, in a move that positioned the First Lady Grace Mugabe to succeed the aging president. Information Minister Simon Khaya-Moyo attributed the dismissal to Mnangagwa's "traits of disloyalty, disrespect, deceitfulness, and unreliability." Mnangagwa had been accused of undermining the president's authority and of plotting to take control of key government institutions. In a possible prelude to Mnangagwa's dismissal, two days earlier at a youth rally in Bulawayo, he had been cheered on by supporters, but was harshly rebuked by the president and first lady, who accused him of disloyalty. Mnangagwa's removal was supported by Grace Mugabe and her G40 faction within ZANU–PF, and was a blow to the influence of the party's Lacoste faction, the military establishment, and the War Veterans Association, which formed his base of support.