Zimbabwe’s former Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa flew home on November 22 and met with top government and ruling party officials ahead of his inauguration as president on November 24, an aide told AFP.
“He met the ZANU-PF politburo at Manyame airbase... He has already left State House where he was having a de-brief. Inauguration is on Friday,” Larry Mavhima told AFP.
Ahead of his arrival, Parliament Speaker Jacob Mudenda confirmed Mr. Mnangagwa would be sworn in as President at an inauguration ceremony on November 24.
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Mr. Mugabe’s iron grip ended in a shock announcement to Parliament where MPs had convened to impeach the 93-year-old. On the streets, the news that his leadership was over sparked wild celebrations which lasted late into the night, with crowds dancing and cheering ecstatically amid a cacophony of car horns.
Mr. Mnangagwa, 75, was sacked by the President on November 6 in a move that pushed infuriated army chiefs to intervene, triggering a series of events which led to Mr. Mugabe’s ouster.
A former key Mugabe ally, Mr. Mnangagwa fled the country after his dismissal, saying he would not return without guarantees of his safety. His sacking was the result of an increasingly bitter succession battle with Mr. Mugabe’s wife Grace, who had been pushing to take over from the ageing leader.
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“My decision to resign is voluntary”, Mr. Mugabe wrote in his resignation letter, expressing his “desire to ensure a smooth, peaceful and non-violent transfer of power”.
The fate of Mr. Mugabe remain unknown, but ZANU-PF has said he deserved to be treated with respect after leading the country for nearly four decades.
Mr. Mugabe’s resignation was hailed by the international community as a chance to reshape Zimbabwe’s future. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said it offered Zimbabwe “an extraordinary opportunity to set itself on a new path”. And Beijing, which became a major political and economic partner of Harare as it was shunned by the West, said it respected his decision, describing Mugabe as a “good friend of the Chinese people”.